Nice Guys Don't Grow On Trees
by Seanchaidh
Summary: A story of love, loyalty, friendship and betrayal, plus some comic relief from Darryl and the kids, this follows the trials and tribulations of the remaining Mall Rats post S5. Mains are Ebony, Jack, Amber, Ram and Lex - not necessarily pairings! Pls R
1. Chapter 1

**Nice Guys Don't Grow On Trees**

**Chapter 1**

By the time the overcrowded boat reached land, the remaining Mallrats were parched and starving. What little water and even less food that had been on board the boat had been rationed out as severely and as fairly as possible, but it still hadn't lasted the journey. In fact it had done little more than keep them all alive.

The sheltered cove they found to moor the boat in could be described in two ways: protected on three sides by tall, rocky cliffs, if you were Amber; a corner to get trapped in, if you were Ebony. It was land, anyway, and that meant the possibility of fresh water and perhaps food. Even as Lex and Jay dragged the inflatable life raft carrying the first group of them to shore, Jack was scanning the cliffs with the boat's binoculars to find some clue to help them.

"You don't need binoculars to see there's no raging torrent falling over that cliff, Jack," Ellie grumbled by his side.

"You're missing the point!" Jack snapped impatiently. "A-anyone can see that rock face is damp. There are green patches too. In a line, if you'd bother to look. That means there's water getting through. I-I know where it starts at the top, I just don't know where... where it... stops..."

Jack's sentence petered out like the trickle of water he was trying so hard to follow and he elapsed into concentrated silence. Ellie looked up to find his gaze was now off to one side of the cove, his brow wrinkled as he peered through the binoculars. She knew him well enough by now to know he had stopped talking because he'd seen something but, without the aid of lenses to magnify her own view, she had no idea what had caught his attention.

"What is it?"

"Noth-nothing," Jack stuttered, still distracted, taking the binoculars away from his eyes and passing them to Ellie. "H-here, keep an eye on Lex as he brings the raft back. I've just got to go check something."

"Wh...?" Ellie's question died on her lips as she watched the bright blue and orange jacket hurrying away from her in the direction of May. Caught between keeping an eye on Lex as she'd been asked and wondering what Jack was up to, Ellie's attention flitted back and forth like a spectator at the world's fastest game of tennis.

When Lex finally arrived back with the life raft, Jack was still deep in discussion with May. The furrowed brow and wildly gesticulating hands told Ellie that whatever he was talking about was serious, to him at least. May's expression was more difficult to read, but spoke either of disbelief, disgust or possibly just sheer confusion!

Lex's arrival, and departure with more of the Mallrats and what few belongings they had left, gave Ellie the excuse to interrupt Jack and May mid whisper.

"Will somebody tell me what all this is about?" Ellie demanded. "And don't say it's nothing, because you're a terrible liar, Jack."

Jack opened his mouth to say something then shook his head and turned away. In the seconds before his face was hidden from her view, Ellie spotted another well known expression: the one he usually wore when he was trying not to say something. Much of their lives before her return to the mall were still a blur, but that was an expression she had become exceedingly familiar with since then and no loss of memory was able to cloud her judgement when it came to reading him in that mood. So she had lied to him once. Just once? No, probably more. He still had his back to her. That meant whatever it was had hurt him. Enough for him to try and hide it from her. But why now? The comment about lying? Or something he had seen in the cove? She looked to May. May's nonchalant eyebrows raised at Ellie's unspoken question.

"Jack thinks he saw some caves," she said, shrugging. "He wanted to know if my guy knew this area or anyone in it. I think Jack's been spending too much time with Ebony: seeing ambushes in opportunities!"

It took another two trips with the life raft for Lex to ferry everyone to the shore, but it turned out Jack had seen some caves in the cliff face. Whether or not that was all he had seen, he wouldn't say. In fact, he said very little for the rest of that day, to Ellie at least.

The cave provided a source of fresh water seeping through from the ceiling down a long stalactite in the centre of a wide cavern. The sides of the cavern were high enough to provide a dry resting place and there was enough driftwood washed up on the shoreline to build a small fire to boil the water and make it safer to drink.

"Can't believe we're back to living in caves!" Lex sighed, prodding at the fire with a stick of driftwood.

"I should have through it would suit you, Lex!" Amber quipped, trying to lighten the mood. "You always were our resident caveman!"

Lex pulled a face and stared into the fire, his thoughts lost to the others around him. Amber watched him for a moment, then cast her gaze around the tired and bedraggled group. Nineteen of them in all had left the city, including the babies. Nineteen people sat around the small fire. Amber knew where her own mind was and she was fairly sure she could make a good guess at Bray and Brady's, but that left sixteen minds that were beyond her reach. Some she knew well enough to make guesses at, others she didn't.

Jay sat behind her, his expression out of her sight, but she chose to believe that he would be planning their next move. The general in him taking charge when they reached the shore and then again when they found the caves had convinced her that his mind was fixed on survival. On her right was Trudy, cradling a sleeping Brady. The tribe's first mother was gazing down at her daughter in a mixture of joy and sadness. Sad to leave her home and the safety of the mall, Amber thought, but relieved that she and her daughter had made it so far. That at least was something she herself could relate to.

Amber cast a glance down to her son, asleep in her own arms. She had come so close to never seeing him again, but he was still far too young to understand what they had all gone through. Raising her eyes to her left, Amber saw Ebony, leaning back against Slade. Their expressions were both distant and unreadable. Slade's because Amber didn't know him well enough. Ebony's because nobody ever knew Ebony well enough!

Lex sat beyond Ebony, his gaze still on the fire. Perhaps he was thinking of Siva, or Tai San. Perhaps he was going over in his head the secrets that Mega had told him and that Ram had teased him about. Would he ever tell them everything? Ellie sat on his other side, hugging her knees to her chest and staring across the fire in the direction of their mediocre woodpile. She was watching Jack, sitting with his back to the pile of misshapen logs, one leg straight, the other bent so that his hand rested on his knee and obscured part of his face from Amber's view. She didn't need to see his face to know something was bothering him, though. His distance from Ellie told her that. Between Jack and Trudy sat May, her arms folded round her and her eyes on the fire. She too was a mystery to Amber. Perhaps she always would be.

Opposite May sat Salene, one arm around Ruby, who was curled up in a ball with her head on Salene's lap, sound asleep. She wasn't the only one. Gel, Sammy and Lottie were curled up close together under one blanket, their minds exhausted by the journey. Never one to be outdone by children, Darryl was also asleep, as was their begrudging host for the journey. That left Ram, sitting between the two sleeping men on one side and Jack on the other. Sometimes Amber wondered if Ram ever lost his cool. He was sitting there, whittling the end of a straight piece of driftwood into a sharp point. Typical Ram, always the first to think about weapons! Well, it would catch a fish at least, Amber thought, if he knew how to use it properly.

Getting back round the group to Jack, Amber frowned. His head was down, hidden by his arm and hand, but his breathing was slow and even. She wondered if he had fallen asleep there, too exhausted by the day's efforts to move or lie down. Only Ellie, sitting directly opposite Jack and watching him with an expression of mingled fear and worry, would be able to tell if that were the case, but Amber found it impossible to catch her eye and gave up. Behind her she felt Jay lean down and whisper that she should get some sleep. She nodded and lay down, letting him wrap a blanket around her and her son before getting up and walking over to Lex. A moment later, as she watched Jay whisper something in Lex's ear and, at a nod from Lex, walk off towards the entrance to the cave, Amber felt someone join her under the blanket and looked round to see Trudy.

"Mind if we join you?" Trudy whispered in her best friend's ear, settling her daughter beneath the blanket.

"Not at all," Amber replied, keeping her voice low. "I think we're all going to need our sleep tonight!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Well we can't just sit here forever!" Ebony cried, waving a hand in the direction of the rest of the cavern. "What exactly do you expect us to do, Jay? Live off rock filtered raindrops and mushrooms? Never see the light of day again?"

"I'm not saying that, Ebony," Jay raised his hands, barely visible in the dim light of the small campfire. "All I'm saying is that we don't know our way round here. We should be careful. Take things one step at a time."

"Meanwhile the rest of us starve to death!"

"We've caught fish from the boat before, we'll do it again. Besides: we've found land. All we have to do now is explore it! We can do that with the boat: follow the coast round until we find somewhere a little less vertical to come ashore at."

"And what if there isn't? What if we waste the rest of our food and fuel trailing round the outside of this island when the way to the inside lies through these caves?" Ebony raised a hand to point at the low end of the cavern. "Jay there's a whole river down there. That has to come from somewhere. We could follow it. Find out where it's coming from. Sure, we might hit a dead end somewhere along the line but at least we'd have tried! There are at least three passages leading off of this cavern other than the one that goes outside and we've barely explored any of them!"

The argument had already been raging for some hours that day. It had started as a group discussion about what they should do next. Understandably, there were a considerable variety of ideas. The group had now split into two main camps: those who agreed with Ebony and wanted to explore the caves and those who agreed with Jay and thought it was too dangerous. Finally Amber stood up, Jay and Ebony falling silent as she did so.

"Okay, how about we make a compromise," she said. "Ebony picks a team from those who agree with her and they check out the caves. Darryl, Lex and Ben take the boat and check out the coastline. The rest of us use the life raft to fish and scout the beach outside for any way round. Perhaps there's a route at low tide that we've missed."

Ben was the name of the 'scuzzball trader' whose boat they had 'borrowed' to leave the city. He had taken a while to forgive them, but the long journey and close quarters had made everyone necessarily more comfortable in each other's company. He seemed most comfortable with Lex, May, Ram and Darryl and they seemed the only people particularly comfortable with him.

"Hey! Lex is on my side here!" Ebony complained immediately.

"He's the best one able to handle the boat with Ben and Darryl, or were you planning on letting them head off alone?"

Ebony scowled but didn't bother to reply. She understood Amber's argument completely and agreed with it entirely. Turning her back on her nemesis, she surveyed the group she had left.

"Fine," she said. "May, Ram: you two take the nearest tunnel. Slade..."

"I'm taking Ruby," Slade cut in. One of the many revelations discovered on board the boat had been Ebony's murderous attack on Ruby. Slade had frozen Ebony out for two days before finally telling her he wanted nothing more to do with her. Since their first sight of land it had become apparent that he and Ruby were beginning to rekindle an old flame.

"Fine," Ebony replied through gritted teeth. "You two take the middle tunnel. Jack and I will take the last one."

"Hey!" The cry of complaint came from Ellie, not Jack. Although parts of her memory were still considerably hazy, the part where Ebony disappeared with Jack and came back alone was not!

"What?" Ebony spat. "You want me to take Sammy?" Everyone else, including Ellie herself, had sided with Jay.

"Just... Just bring him back this time," Ellie huffed.

"I would have done last time if he had just followed orders!" Ebony's tone lowered to a growl as she met Ellie's hostile glare.

"Why did you pick me?" Jack asked as they made their way across the cavern floor. "You must have known you would end up with me as soon as you put May and Ram together."

"Yeah," Ebony shrugged. "But I figured it would be better to let Slade think he was getting his own way."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Hah," Ebony laughed, glancing back the campfire over at the opposite side of the cavern. "You're my lucky charm, Jack. You found the mall, you found Eagle mountain, you found the key to the Technos' communications, you found this place. Seems if we want to find answers, you're the guy to look to. So: what do you know about caves?"

****

Amber watched as the boat disappeared around the headland. Surely there would be a more suitable landing place somewhere else on the island, she thought. From a distance, when they had first spotted it, they had known it was an island much larger than Hope island, but still smaller than the one they had left behind. Ram had done some complicated mathematics to work out roughly how wide it was, but they had no way of telling how far back beyond their field of view the land extended. It certainly appeared more mountainous than their homeland, but also green and full of life. If they could find their way into those forests, Amber thought, perhaps they could settle there. It had worked for the Gaians. Both Trudy and she had learned so much during their time with the Eco tribe that Amber was certain she could teach the others enough to get them through. With Ram and Jack's skills added, even without the technological wizardry of the city, they would be able to build good, strong homes. She could teach them how to fish, just like she had with Trudy, and what plants and fungi were safe to eat.

Amber sighed, feeling the burden of leadership pressing down on her again. It felt like it had when they first found the mall. She hadn't wanted to be leader then, but the others had just ended up squabbling until she was forced to intervene. Now, with Ebony and Jay constantly at each other's throats over every decision, she was being forced to play peacemaker yet again, only this time she had a son to look after whilst doing so! A movement behind her broke Amber's chain of thought and she glanced round to see Trudy standing close by.

"Just like old times?" Trudy ventured, smiling and stepping closer.

"Yeah," Amber sighed. "Only instead of Bray and Lex arguing over every little thing, it's Jay and Ebony!"

"Just as well we have you then," Trudy put an arm round her friend's shoulders and hugged her.

"Why does it always have to be me?" Amber groaned. "I mean really: when did I ever say I wanted to be leader? Yet no matter where I go, that's what seems to happen! First in the mall, then with the Ecos, then back at the mall again and now here!"

"It's because you don't want the job that everyone trusts you, Amber!" Trudy said soothingly. "I mean, let's face it: would you trust Ebony in charge? Or Ram? They're the ones who really want power and they're the ones nobody would vote for purely because of that!"

"And Jay?"

"Jay's a good man, and a good leader, we both know that," Trudy shrugged. "But most of us are still Mallrats and we look to you. Even Ebony recognises your leadership over Jay's! You saw how she reacted in there!"

"Yeah, I also saw her walk off with my best inventor!"

"He didn't have to go. Besides: we know Ram's good with that sort of stuff too. He can fill in while Jack's away."

"Actually, no, we don't. Ram's good with computers and technology. We know that. But Jack's good with everything. He found his way back from the Chosen and the Technos without the help of technology. He survived out there on his own."

"So did Salene," Trudy reasoned. "She went off after Ryan on her own and she made it back okay."

"True," Amber shrugged.

"Come on: let's get back inside. Lottie wants to ask you about some mushrooms she found."

Still sighing, Amber let her friend lead her back into the cave. Mushrooms were nice enough every now and then, but for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day? Casting a glance back over her shoulder to where Jay and Ellie had managed to clamber up onto some rocks in the hope of finding a land route out of the cove. They had taken fishing gear with them, as had Lex, Darryl and Ben, and Amber could only hope that they would at least bring back something more interesting than mushrooms for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"How many times do I have to say it, Jack: I'm FINE!"

Ebony's voice grated through the dull light like nails down a chalkboard. Jack winced. It was his own fault. He should know better by now than to ask Ebony something twice. Patience was not her strong point. It wasn't his either, but he bit his tongue and ignored the urge to argue, again. The argument that had ensued when he first asked her if she was okay was still echoing in his memory.

Jack paused and frowned, peering ahead into the gloom. He switched off the weak torch he had taken charge of, after Ebony had inadvertently switched it off twice, and received a mouthful of curses from Ebony's general direction.

"Ebony, shut up and look!" Jack snapped, his own patience wearing thin again. Whether or not she looked in the right direction, Jack couldn't tell, but at least she shut up. "There's a light up ahead," he said. "Do you see it? It might be a way out."

"Or it might be the light from another team's torches!" Ebony hissed.

"It's not moving, it's the wrong kind of light and they would have heard you by now, believe me!"

"Fine! The campfire then!"

"Don't you want to get out of here?"

"I just don't think we should get our hopes up too high!" Ebony spat back. "It feels like we've been walking round in circles in here for days!"

"This was your idea!"

"Not the getting lost part!"

"Well if you'd slowed down enough for me to draw a basic map!"

"Jack, it's dark, it's cold, it's damp and it all looks the same. WHAT would you draw?"

"Actually, no, it doesn't! If you'd bothered to look around you sometime, you might have seen that!"

"Well forgive me for wanting to get out of this rancid hole!"

"Well forgive ME for wanting to be able to find my way back to the others!"

"I'm more worried about finding my way out of HERE before I die of BOREDOM!"

"Then what are you waiting for? That light could be our way out!"

"I'm waiting for you to put the light back on, genius!"

"Oh."

Jack fumbled with the torch sheepishly and the dim light flickered back on. He pointed the beam in the direction of the unidentified light and saw Ebony turn and scramble up a rocky slope towards it. Too late, Jack saw the loose stones and called a useless warning. He barely had time to step out of the way as a screaming Ebony tumbled past him.

"You okay?" Jack asked, shining a torch down on Ebony where she lay wedged by her shoulders into a water-worn split in the rock floor.

The crack in the cave floor wasn't deep. If Ebony had been standing upright, it might have come up to her chest. It did, however, have the start of the underground river they had been following winding along the bottom of it.

"Do I look okay?" Ebony growled back. She had braced her feet either side of the small chasm and was trying to keep the weight off of her shoulders and back. "Get me out of here!"

"Okay, okay!" Jack held up his hands and wished fervently he'd kept that old headset with the light on it that he'd used for working on stuff back when the virus had first hit. "Look, try and put your feet down. Maybe we can sort of, I dunno, lever you out of there?"

"Are you kidding me?" Ebony shrieked. "Do you have any idea how painful this is without losing my only other support? I feel like my arm is about to say goodbye to its socket again!"

"Hmmm," Jack chewed his lip and looked thoughtful.

"What?" Ebony snapped. "Don't just sit there, genius: do something! You're supposed to be the creative one around here!"

"Give me your hand," Jack said suddenly, holding out his right hand to Ebony. She reached up as far as she could and grasped it with her own right hand. Jack nodded and kept his eyes on Ebony's face as he continued. "Now I'm going to count to four. Right? A-and when I get to four, you swing your legs down and push and I'll hold on up here and pull. Okay?"

"Okay..." Ebony nodded suspiciously.

"Okay," Jack nodded. "One, two..."

The scream from Ebony filled the narrow passageway and Jack narrowly dodged a vicious left hook. He dropped down into the rift stood facing Ebony. She wasn't happy.

"You BROKE my ARM!" Ebony raged.

"I didn't mean to," Jack countered, picking up Ebony's right arm and checking it for breaks. "I was only trying to dislocate it, and I do believe that's all I've done."

"ONLY!"

"Yeah, well, you weren't getting out of there any other way and once you've dislocated a joint once, it's easier to take it out and put it back in again a second time."

"It still hurts!"

"Well, that's why I didn't tell you what I was gonna do. Would you rather be stuck there?" Jack asked, moving Ebony's right hand up towards her shoulder.

"I'd rather have both my arms in good working order so I can beat you to a pulp!"

"So what? If I fix your arm, I'm just gonna get beaten up for my trouble?"

"Probably!"

"Even if it gets you out of here."

Ebony sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "Just get on with it. Last time it hurt like..."

"It won't hurt this time," Jack cut in.

"What? Have you got some magic painkillers in that bag of yours or something?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "Just something I learned from one of Dal's medical books. It'll only work though i-if you relax."

"Oh, great! It'll work if I relax!" Ebony's voice started getting higher and louder. "That's brilliant Jack! Well done! I'll just think back to the last time I managed to relax whilst stuck in a pitch black cave, ankle deep in freezing cold water, without room to swing a cat and only one working arm to try it with anyway, shall I? Let me see now? When was that exactly? Oh, yes! NEVER!"

"Ebony at least try to calm down!" Jack hissed, trying to get her to focus on his face in the dim light.

"I AM TRYING!" Ebony screamed, panic obvious in her voice. "How calm would you be if you were stuck in a hole like this relying on a geek who THINKS he knows what he's doing..."

Ebony's rant was suddenly cut off by Jack's lips on her own. At first, she tried to pull away, but there was a rock wall behind her. Then she tried to push him away, but with only one working arm, she didn't have the strength. Then she felt Jack's hand slide up her left arm to her neck, tipping her head back and brushing a thumb across her chin, pulling her lips apart. As the kiss deepened, Ebony felt a shiver run down her spine and she stopped fighting. As soon as she gave in, he felt her muscles relax. Slowly, gently, he moved the dislocated arm back into its socket. A small sound escaped Ebony as she felt the arm go back into place and she gasped as Jack pulled away from her.

"What just happened?" Ebony whispered, as if unwilling to break the silence that had descended.

"You panicked," Jack replied, equally quietly.

"And after that?"

"I panicked?" Jack winced, expecting another argument.

Silence.

"We should get out of here," Jack said, his voice cutting through the dark.

"Yeah," agreed Ebony, nodding. "Just one thing though."

"Wha..." Jack was cut off as Ebony reached up and pulled his head back down to hers.

The sun was heading for the horizon when Jack and Ebony finally scrambled out of the caves. The gap in the rock was low and narrow and they had to squeeze through one at a time. They found themselves sitting two feet apart half way up a grassy hillside, watching the sun set and resolutely not looking at each other.

"We NEVER talk about that!" Jack gasped, breathing in the fresh air deeply. "It never happened a-and it's never gonna happen... again."

"Never!" Ebony agreed, staring blankly ahead of her at the setting sun, her voice as shell-shocked as her expression. "As far as everyone else is concerned, nothing happened. We got here completely without incident. No fall, no dislocated arm, no... Nothing."

Jack nodded and frowned.

"We need to make camp," he said, suddenly noticing the darkening sky.

"Yeah, let's do that," Ebony nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Honey, he's gonna work it out sooner or later!" May puffed, pulling Ellie's corset strings tighter. "Plus, you can't keep hiding it this way: one or both of you could get seriously hurt!"

"Just a little while longer," Ellie begged, pulling her blouse down over the corset to hide it. "Please, May. Jack's in one of his moods. He has been since we got here. I don't know what caused it, but this could make it ten times worse!"

"Or get rid of it entirely!" May argued. "Jack's a good guy, Ellie. He'll probably flap about in a panic for a few days, but he'll be over the moon once he's calmed down!"

"Will he? He's pretty good at maths!"

"What?" May scrutinised Ellie's face for a long moment. The penny dropped and she gasped in realisation. "It's not his. You were already pregnant when you got back. Jeez, Ellie, do you even know who the father is?"

Sheepishly, Ellie shook her head and sat down on a nearby rock.

"I don't remember," she said, staring at her hands and fighting back tears. "When I worked it out, I hoped that maybe, just maybe, it was his, from before, but then I found out that we'd never... So I just made sure we did and hoped that I wasn't too far along that he'd be able to believe it was his."

"Wow," May sat down beside Ellie and put an arm around the younger girl's shoulders. "That's some fine mess you've gotten yourself into!"

"He can't ever find out, May," Ellie sniffed. "Not ever."

"You're going to need help with this, you know."

"Oh, no, please!" Ellie begged, grabbing May's free hand. "You can't tell anyone! You only found out by accident! The more people who know, the more likely he'll find out. You can't tell anyone, May! Please!"

"Okay, okay: we'll go on as we are for now," May said soothingly. "But look: when he gets back, you're going to have to try and make it up with him. Either that, or you let me bring Salene and Ruby in on this. Salene especially: you can trust her and she does know a little about what you're going through."

Ellie nodded silently.

"Look on the bright side," said May, trying to sound cheerful. "At least you don't have Luke to worry about any more!"

Ellie looked up and frowned.

"Who's Luke?"

****

"Surely they should be back by now," Amber sighed, prodding at the small fire that served as light, heating and cooking facilities in the cave. "They've been gone over two days! What if something's happened to them?"

"If anything had happened to them, we'd hear Ebony's curses from here," Ram replied, dumping another armful of driftwood on the woodpile. "Either that or she'd come back and haunt us. Quit worrying, Amber. They took the route most likely to lead outside anyway. Maybe they've found their way out."

"Then why haven't they come back and told us?"

"Maybe it's a long way," Ram shrugged, sitting down cross-legged opposite Amber. "Or maybe they've just decided to run away together."

"Jack and Ebony?" Amber laughed. "That'll be the day!"

"Nothing would surprise me about Ebony just now," said Ram. "Although I would be surprised at Jack. I wouldn't have said she was his type

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amber raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, I'd have thought it was more the other way round!"

"Really?" Ram tipped his head to one side in curiosity. "How so?"

Amber glanced over her shoulder. Trudy had taken the children out to the beach to play treasure hunts and see if they could find anything useful. The others were also out foraging. It was just her, minding the fire and trying to decide what to do next, and Ram. She rolled her eyes, sighed and shrugged.

"Jack's always had a thing for Ellie, ever since they met," Amber explained. "And Ellie has gone head to head with Ebony over numerous things. She's argued with all of us at some point, though, so that's nothing unusual. The thing is, so has Ebony. They're both very... assertive young women. Neither of them seem to be averse to using men to get what they want: what happened between Ebony and Jay is almost exactly what happened between Ellie and Luke."

"Luke?" Ram interrupted.

"The Guardian's right hand man. Gone before you lot arrived, but caused a lot of trouble while he was here. Ellie left Jack for him."

"But she's back with Jack now."

"True," Amber nodded. "I don't think she remembers Luke, so you'd better not mention him when she's around. I'd hate to think what it would do to Jack if she dumped him again, but this time for a memory!"

"Fair enough."

"And another thing," said Amber, prodding the fire again. "Again, it's not just Ellie and Ebony: Alice, Ellie's sister, went through it too."

"What?"

"Well, you've seen what happens when someone tries to take one of their men. Ellie nearly blew up the hotel, then tried to throttle Ebony. All because she blamed her for Jack being taken away. Then Ebony nearly killed Ruby when she thought Ruby was having Slade's baby. They've both gone a little bit mad in the past and they're both determined to get their own way."

"That's true," Ram nodded. "So you think he's more likely to fall for her than she is for him?"

"Definitely!" Amber's eyebrows went up to emphasise her point.

"Interesting."

"Go on."

"Hmm?" Ram decided to look coy.

"You obviously think Ebony's more likely to fall for Jack. I'm willing to bet you have a theory to back you up there too and I can tell you're just itching to share it with someone."

"You didn't spot it then?"

"Spot what?"

"How Ebony picked Jack to go off caving with."

Amber frowned.

"What are you talking about? Ebony was going to pick Slade," she said, watching Ram's smug face.

"Was she now? Just like she picked Bray to be city leader?"

"Go on," said Amber carefully.

"It was obvious from the start that Slade would choose to go with either myself, May, Jack or Ruby. He doesn't trust Ebony any more, either to go with her himself or to leave her with Ruby. Not that I think he has anything to worry about: Ebony's moved on. So if Ebony paired up Ruby with any of the three of us, he would automatically choose one of the two others left to work with. If she paired him up with any of the rest of us, then decided she and Ruby were going caving together, he would kick up an almighty stink and we'd all have another row on our hands. Instead, she let him think he was getting his own way by picking May and I to explore the first tunnel. She knew Slade would demand to work with Ruby on one of the other two tunnels when she did that, therefore she knew she was going to be left with Jack."

"So what does that prove?" Amber shrugged, not convinced. "No offence, but I would have picked Jack out of that line up too."

"Yes, you and Ebony do seem to have dangerously similar taste in men."

"What?" Amber snapped, confused.

"Well think about it," Ram spread out his hands in front of him. "When you can choose between a beefcake like Slade and a genius like me, why would you pick a weedy little virt geek like Jack?"

"Well, for starters, less of the 'virt' if you please. You're not in power any more!"

"A bad choice of words," Ram waved the objection away. "You know what I mean. Go on: tell me why you, or Ebony, would choose Jack."

"Because we trust him," Amber sighed.

"Exactly!" Ram cackled triumphantly. "That's exactly my point! You can trust him! Ebony can trust him! Everyone trusts Jack!"

"That doesn't mean..."

"No?" Ram raised his eyebrows at Amber. "Let's see. What was the most attractive thing about, what was his name again? Ah, yes. Bray."

"His principles," Amber growled.

"Principles that made him someone you could trust, yes?" Ram's query was met by sullen silence. "A hero? A knight in shining armour? What about Jay then? That was 'principles' too, wasn't it? It certainly wasn't his flair for making his mind up!"

Amber sucked her teeth and glared at the fire.

"Then we have Slade. The one man you haven't managed to steal from her. Now I'm willing to bet that the motorbike and devil-may-care attitude aren't quite your thing, but he still played the hero to Ebony, rescuing her from Java and all that. And there we have it. So predictable you're like little computer programs all of your own! Both of you looking for someone to rescue you and protect you from the big bad world outside. Ironic, when you think about it. Before we left, you were probably the two most powerful women in the city!"

****

"How much water do we have left?" Lex called to Darryl.

"Not a lot," Darryl replied, rooting around in one of the boat's storage compartments. "We'll need to head back soon if we don't find somewhere to land and fill up."

"I think I see something!" Ben shouted back from the helm. "Come and take a look."

The other two men joined the boatman at the front of the vessel, Lex taking the pair of binoculars that were handed to him. He focussed on a stretch of land that was becoming visible around yet another rocky headland.

"I see it!" Lex cried. "There's a dip in the cliffs. It looks like it goes right down to the water level."

"Great!" Darryl said, excitement showing in his voice. "So we can land and have a look around. Maybe find some real food?"

"Yeah, maybe," Lex's tone had turned wary.

"What?" Ben asked, squinting ahead in the direction of the land. "What's wrong?"

"I get the feeling," said Lex, "that we might not be the only people to have found this landing point."

"Why?" Darryl asked, confused.

"Well, for starters," Lex replied, handing Darryl the binoculars, "there's another boat on the beach already!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain?"

"Cut it out, Sal!" Ellie's irritated voice cut through the gathering gloom.

"Well, Ellie you did seduce a man purely for the purposes of tricking him into raising your child as his own and are now going to unprecedented lengths to hide the fact that you're actually pregnant from said guy whilst having secret midnight meetings with May and I to work out how you're going to carry on this charade once he gets back here," Salene giggled, finally pausing for breath. "It is a little over-dramatic!"

"I thought you of all people might understand, you know!"

"I wasn't having another man's baby when I married Ryan," Salene replied. "That baby was definitely his!"

"Well, I wish this baby was definitely Jack's!" Ellie hissed. "Do you have any idea how it feels to find out you're pregnant and have absolutely no memory of how you ended up that way? The ideas that end up running through your head? The nightmares?"

Salene bit her lip and looked down.

"I lie awake at night wondering, Salene," Ellie continued, her voice cracking. "Wondering how it happened. Where? When? Who? I hoped, I really hoped, it might have been Jack's because then... Then I could stop worrying. Then I could let it go and be happy. Instead, I have to face the possibility that I will never find out who this baby's father is. The possibility that he... That... That maybe that's why I can't remember anything. Maybe something happened to me that I don't want to remember. But now, not knowing is even worse!"

"Yeah, I hadn't thought about it like that," Salene murmured softly, all trace of amusement gone from her voice. Looking up to face Ellie once more, she put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "But Ellie, why hide it from him? Jack's a good guy and he loves you. He wouldn't have walked away."

"Can you be sure of that?" Ellie's voice shook. "I don't know why, Salene, but I have this terrifying fear that that's exactly what he'd do. All these bits of memories that I have of him and there are as many of him pushing me away or leaving as there are anything else. And I don't know why! The last memory I have of him, before I got back to the mall, is of him pushing me away and saying goodbye. The last one! And I don't mean just like you would when you're saying goodbye to someone for a short time. I remember kissing him. I remember kissing him and him pulling away from me. Rejecting me. That's the last memory I have of him before getting back to the mall. I don't know what happened after that, or before it. I don't know if we'd just had a fight or if we'd broken up properly. I don't know what was going on. All I know is that he walked away from me then, and it wasn't the first time, or the second. If he could do it then, he could do it now."

"But this is different!" May cut it, resting a supporting arm around Ellie's shoulders. "You're together now and you need him. You might not know all the details, but I know a few of them. All those times he walked away? You know why he came back? Because he was needed. Okay, the first time, it was the Chosen who took him away..."

"No, it was Ebony," Ellie cut in. "Ebony had something to do with it. He was spending all his time with her."

"Oh," Salene looked over to a puzzled May and decided to explain. "Jack did some spying on Ebony for us after she first moved in to the hotel."

"Right," Ellie nodded. "The hotel, that was it. And he was always there, then all the time he spent in the mall he was sleeping or working on something with Dal."

"He was exhausted, Ellie," said Salene. "Everyone was relying on Jack and Dal back then."

"Then he disappeared again..." Ellie's voice trailed off into a frown.

"That was the Chosen," Salene nodded. "They took him away, but he found his way back to you. The thought of you kept him alive while he was away."

"Then why did he leave again after that? I remember him leaving twice before that last kiss."

"The first time he came back because one of our friends needed help getting back to the mall."

"Who?"

"It's better you remember on your own," Salene shook her head. "Anyway, the second time, he didn't leave."

"He didn't?" Ellie frowned.

"He didn't," Salene confirmed. "You persuaded him not to. You brought him back to the mall. He came back because of you. Again."

"But then why do I feel like there's this massive piece of the puzzle missing. Like a huge chunk of my life that was really crucial has just been completely obliterated from my memory."

"Well..." May's voice trailed off at a glare from Salene as Ellie burst into tears, her head in her hands.

Salene sighed and looked over Ellie's bowed head at May, mouthing the words 'don't you dare' as she did so. May had the wit to bite her tongue and say nothing.

"Look, Ellie," Salene said, taking both of Ellie's hands in hers. "Whatever happens, May and I will stand by you and help you through this. So will the others, I'm sure of it. Amber and Trudy especially. They know how hard it is to raise a child in this world. But I am certain. Absolutely certain. If you tell Jack the truth, he will stand by you. But you have to tell him the truth, Ellie. The whole truth. He's not a fool, so don't treat him like one. Just trust him to do the right thing. He always has done in the past. Even if he has taken his time coming round to an idea."

"Do you have any idea what you're looking for?" Lottie sighed as Sammy prodded a rock pool with a stick.

"Well, if I hit it and it moves, we might be able to eat it," Sammy explained patiently. "Don't you bother looking for food? Or is it only worth taking if you're stealing it?"

Lottie pulled a face and stuck her tongue out at Sammy.

"Hey! Look at this!" Sammy cried out, blissfully unaware of the silent tirade of faces being pulled at him by Lottie. Quick as a flash, the young girl was leaning over the rock pool with him.

"What is it?" Lottie asked, frowning at the dull, stone-like object in Sammy's hand.

"It's an oyster!" Sammy exclaimed proudly. "I've seen them at the fish counters in shops before the virus. They're really pretty inside and sometimes you can get pearls out of them!"

"Ooh! Quick! Open it!"

"Umm..."

"What?"

"I-I don't know how," Sammy shrugged. "I think you need a knife or something. Amber would know though."

"You're useless!" Lottie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's take it back to Amber and see if she can open it."

Grabbing Sammy by the sleeve and half marching, half stumbling across the rocks, Lottie led the way back to the cave. Sammy nearly dropped his prized catch when she stopped in her tracks. Stumbling a little to regain his balance after nearly walking into Lottie, Sammy followed her fixed gaze. Just visible round the edge of an outcropping of rocks, two intertwining forms had appeared. One was Jay, obvious by his blonde hair. The other, with her arms wrapped around Jay's neck and her lips firmly planted on his, was Trudy.

Sammy looked down to Lottie. The expression on the little girl's face was a mixture of horror, disgust, fury and unbearable sadness. Since her dramatic rescue from Gel's wardrobe, Lottie had begun to treat Amber and Jay as surrogate parents. Not able to watch Lottie's eyes fill with tears, and not wanting to let Jay and Trudy know they had seen them, Sammy searched the cliff for somewhere else to look. Suddenly, a flash of light caught his eye and dragged it over to the area of cliff top right above their beach. He squinted in the direction of the flash, then burst out laughing.

"Look!" Sammy shouted, pointing up to the top of the cliff and dragging Lottie out of her tearful stare. She followed the line of his pointing finger and was soon laughing and waving gleefully, ignoring the fact that Trudy and Jay had now realised they were not alone and had moved off in different directions.

Two figures were waving down at them, the sun reflecting off a black leather jacket on the shorter figure and a bright blue and orange one on the taller person.

"They made it!" Sammy cried, laughing and waving back with both arms. "It's Jack and Ebony! They made it out the other side of the caves! There's a way through!"

"Come on!" Lottie giggled, grabbing Sammy's hand. "Let's go and tell Amber and the others!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"How long do you think it'll take them to get through?" Ebony asked as she followed Jack away from the cliff face.

"I dunno," Jack shrugged. "Time was pretty difficult to judge in there. We were definitely in there for more than a day though."

"And it took us two days to find our way back to the cliff top..."

"But that was by a round about route. We should be able to get back to the cave exit in half that time."

"We'll have to stop and spend the night somewhere on the route though."

Jack stopped suddenly and Ebony walked into him, grabbing his arm to stop herself slipping on the steep slop, then letting go as quickly as if she'd burnt her hands.

"Don't do that!" Ebony hissed, punching Jack's arm half-heartedly and wrapping her arms around her bare midriff to keep out the breeze.

"I-I was just trying to work out our best route!" Jack complained, waving a hand at the hilly terrain in front of them. "You know, if we just go a little more east, we'll go past the forest where we spent the first night out of the caves!"

"I guess," Ebony agreed warily, pulling her arms even tighter around her, just to make absolutely sure they were where they were supposed to be.

****

Amber straightened up, testing out the straps that were holding two blankets on her back and her son in front of her. She looked round at the assembled group. Trudy, Salene and May all carried firewood in bundles on their backs, along with their own packs. Lottie, like Amber, carried a pair of blankets. Sammy carried firewood. Slade had one of the largest packs, including the tinderbox they had used to light, and occasionally re-light, their fire and some of the boat's tools that they had kept with them when Lex, Darryl and Ben left. Gel had enough to carry with her own luggage, so much so that Ruby was carrying part of that for her, along with her own belongings. Ellie had her own pack and a bucket of mushrooms. Jay was carrying all of the tribe's water in a rucksack full of bottles. Ram, lastly, had a giggling Brady strapped to his back, who was currently trying to catch Ram's hand, which was currently pretending to be a scallop, swimming away from Brady. In his other hand, Ram held the group's two remaining buckets, one inside the other. Inside them, being kept alive by a half bucket of sea water, were the meagre pickings of the rock pools, including Sammy's oyster and, indeed, a scallop.

Amber looked back round to Jay and caught his eye. He had been fixing Jack's note under the stone that had been used to control it's flight down the cliff. The note held instructions on how to find their way through the caves. They were simple enough: 'follow the river backwards'. Jay had, at May's insistence, added a short note from himself explaining to Lex and the men on the boat where they had gone. The note now sat in the centre of what had once been their fireplace.

"We can't give them any more time, May," Amber sighed as May sniffed sulkily. "We just don't know how long they'll be. Darryl and Ben can read. They'll find us."

"We really should make a move," Jay nodded. We don't know how long it will take to get through the caves. It could be dark by the time we reach the other side."

May huffed again, but nodded. Jay, switching on the only other torch the group had left, led the way into the water-worn tunnel.

****

"Look, we can't just keep randomly wandering inland!" Lex threw up his hands in frustration. "We're gonna lose our way and then we'll never get back to the boat."

"You said yourself, there has to be someone else here," Ben replied. "That boat didn't tie itself up!"

"That does not mean we are going to find them!" Lex argued. "And even if we do, what are you planning to do if they don't want to share their island? Trade them for it? What with? We barely have enough food to keep us alive! We left most of our water on the boat with Darryl too! Why can't you see that it's time to turn back?"

"I didn't think the great Lex was one for giving up easily!"

"The great Lex is one for surviving!" Lex snapped. "I've managed it so far and I intend to keep doing so! The key is knowing when the odds are stacked against you! Now if you want to keep going, you can keep going, but I'm going back!"

Without waiting for a reply, Lex turned and headed back along the track they had followed. It was almost a minute before he heard them, but eventually the hurrying footsteps he had expected caught up with him.

"Finally, he sees sense!" Lex muttered under his breath.

****

"Do you really think the others will agree to it?" Ebony asked as Jack helped her over a small stream that cut through the gully they were crossing.

"Amber will," Jack replied, watching Ebony's feet as she made it to the bank, then raising his eyes to the new hill they had to climb. "The rest will follow her. Plus, I can't exactly see some people turning it down. It's a better option than we could expect to hope for."

"I guess," Ebony tipped her head to one side in agreement. She looked up to see Jack still staring up at the hillside and chewing his lip, his brow wrinkled in thought. Ebony's fingers played with the collar of his jacket. It would be so easy now, so simple, to slide that hand up and pull his head down to hers again. But would he kiss her back or pull away? The atmosphere here was different from the one in the cave. There were no rock walls pinning them close together. No darkness hiding them. No life or death situations making their hearts beat faster, clouding their judgement. He'd pull away from her. Of course he would. He could forgive himself for what had happened in the cave, but not if he let it happen again. That was an error in the heat of the moment. This wouldn't be. This would be cheating on Ellie, and Jack wouldn't do that. Regardless of the fact that every other adult male in the small group that had escaped the city already had less than perfect records with monogamy, and no matter how many people might say he had every right to settle the score, Jack wouldn't do that. And no matter how much Ebony disliked Ellie, she respected that.

"You can let go now, you know," said Ebony softly, rueful of having to break in on his thoughts.

"Huh?" Jack looked round, his attention snapping back to the here and now. He glanced down and realised that he still had one arm holding Ebony's and the other around her waist. "Oh, right. Sorry." He dropped his arms quickly and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"What were you thinking about?" Ebony asked as he turned away and started climbing the hill.

"Hmm?" Jack looked back and waited while Ebony caught up with him. "Oh, nothing."

"Liar."

"Hey!"

"Well? You don't seriously expect me to believe you just what? Spaced out there for a minute or so?"

"I might have done!"

Ebony folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at Jack in an expression that told him he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one.

"I just..." Jack waved his arm in the direction of the hill. "I just wondered if we're doing the right thing. That's all."

"In what way?" Ebony asked, refusing to move until he had answered her fully.

"The campsite we found is deserted, right?"

"We wouldn't be going back there if it wasn't."

"Okay, but why?"

"Why what, Jack? Stop talking in riddles: not all of us have a brain that runs at the same speed as yours, or in the same direction!"

"Why is it deserted?" Jack explained. "I-if the campsite is as good as we think it is, then why isn't there another tribe there already?"

"Maybe there isn't anyone else around," Ebony shrugged.

"See, that's just it," Jack's brow creased again. "I know there is."

"You what!" Ebony's voice reached an entirely new pitch. "And you're deciding to mention this now! How do you know this Jack? And when exactly did you figure it out?"

"I-I kind of... Saw somebody." Jack shrank away from the petite young woman.

"Where? When?" Ebony demanded.

"In, in the caves," Jack stuttered. "Before we left the boat."

Ebony's mouth dropped open. She burst out laughing.

"What? What's so funny?" Jack frowned, running a hand through his hair.

"That's why you were so sure there was a way through the caves," laughed Ebony. "That's why you insisted on wandering half way across the countryside before turning in the direction of the cliffs. You're looking for them, aren't you? The person you saw?"

Ebony watched as Jack's eyes shifted everywhere but at her. His hands were back in his pockets now and there was something else decidedly uncomfortable about his manner.

"Who was it, Jack?" Ebony's voice softened and her eyes narrowed as she scrutinised his face. "Look at me. Tell me who you saw. Was it Bray? Tai San? Alice?"

Jack sighed and stared at his feet, biting his lip.

"Oh my God," Ebony breathed, realisation hitting her. "It was Luke, wasn't it. It was Luke and you wanted to find him before he found Ellie. Before he found any of us!"

Jack sighed and turned away from Ebony, but not before she'd spotted the telltale signs of anger building up like water behind a dam.

"What did you think you were going to do if you found him, Jack?" Ebony pressed. "Warn him off? Beat him up?" Ebony paused, studying the silent figure with his back to her. She felt fear run through her. "Kill him? Was that what you were going to do? Remove the problem permanently? Stab him in the back while he slept? Or maybe throttle him like Ellie tried to do to me?"

Silence. If only he would talk about it. Get it out of his system. But Jack was good at keeping secrets, Ebony thought, remembering all the times in the past when he had done just that. She gave a short laugh and shook her head.

"No, you couldn't," she said. "You're not capable of that."

"How do you know what I'm capable of?" Jack spat back, the anger breaking through now. "I would do anything, ANYTHING, for her!"

"But not that," Ebony shook her head. "Not you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not a murderer, Jack!" Ebony shouted angrily. "And I'm not about to let you become one!"

"I thought you would understand," Jack turned back round to look at Ebony. His face was flushed. "You of all people!"

"What? Because I tried the same trick on Ruby?" Ebony cried. "Yeah, and look where that got me! On my own again and despised by almost every person that was on that boat! And now it turns out that the only people who are still talking to me are a deposed megalomaniac and the geek who now wants to be my next partner in crime!"

"And if it had worked?"

"It never works, Jack! Not the way you want it to! Even if you did succeed in getting rid of Luke, and that's a big if, you'd still have to live with what you did. That sort of thing stays with you. No matter how much you try and tell yourself you had to do it or that you had no choice, it will always keep haunting you. Your whole life from that point onward will be nothing but a lie. It'll poison everything you have and everything you love. Even your relationship with Ellie."

"But if he ever finds her..."

"What? You'll lose her?" Ebony interrupted, now in full flow and determined to make him see sense. "So what if you do? If she's that easy to steal, Jack, she's not in love with you anyway. Not as much as you want her to be. You can't make somebody love you, no matter what you try! Trust me, I know! I've been there, more than once! If Ellie truly loves you, she'll stay with you, whether Luke turns up or not. If she doesn't, then you're better off without her."

"But everything was fine until Luke showed up!"

"Was it, Jack? Think back: was it really? Because, you see, all I can remember about you two back then is how jealous you got of every guy who went near her. Even your own best friend!"

"Don't you dare bring Dal into this!"

"Why not? What would he think of you now, Jack? What would he think about your plans? Would Dal stand by and let you turn yourself into something you're not? Would he help you? Keep your secrets for you? Maybe cover for you when the nightmares start? Or the mood swings? The lashing out at anyone who gets close to finding out? At him even? At Ellie?"

"I would never hurt her!"

"You already have! If you're keeping the memory of Luke from her just so that she'll stay with you, you're hurting her in ways you can't even imagine! How would you feel if it were the other way round and you couldn't remember her? How would you feel if the person you'd ended up with got rid


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The underground river had been discovered on the second day in the caves, but the difficulty of judging its depth had made it a place to be feared rather than used. Now, linked together by ropes, the Mallrats felt their way along the side of the water filled ravine, following the dim light of Jay's torch. Amber listened as Ram muttered stories to Brady, keeping her occupied with his voice as he now had neither hand free.

They had been walking for hours. At first the passageway was wide enough for two to walk side by side. Now it had narrowed and the river rushed past dangerously close to their right hand side. It had been that way, dipping and writhing through the rocks, for the best part of two hours now. In the dim light, from the very end of the chain, Amber could see little sign of the geography changing. It took another half hour at least before the torrent at the side of her seemed to slow and the rock below her felt smoother.

"When did you get so good with kids," Amber whispered when the group reached the relative safety of a wider tunnel that was now steadily rising.

"Oh, there's a lot you don't know about me," Ram chuckled as they climbed. He had his hand on Brady's head and the little girl laughed as she tried to remove it.

"But apparently not much you don't know about everyone else," Amber replied. "That hardly seems fair."

"I just sit back and make observations," Ram drawled. "I can't help it if people are so predictable."

"Ah, but one of your predictions was wrong, wasn't it?" Amber was now able to walk at Ram's side and together they brought up the rear of the party. "Jack and Ebony? They came back."

"Indeed they did," Ram nodded, successfully removing his head from Brady's hand where she was now trying his own trick on him. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that no part of my prediction came true. Caves like this, with hardly any light and very little space, just the two of them, trying to stay together and stay sane. Who knows what could happen."

"So you still think something happened between them?"

"And happened in the caves, yes."

Amber fell silent and they walked on for a while listening to the sounds of the others up ahead. Eventually, Amber spoke again.

"If, and it's a big if, Ram," she said. "If you are right, what does that mean for the tribe when we meet up again?"

"If I'm right, and I usually am," Ram grinned, "whatever happened between them will have been short-lived, passionate and intense. At least at first anyway. Knowing Jack's sense of loyalty and Ebony's distrust of any feeling that might in any sense weaken her, they'll both be trying to pretend nothing ever happened. At the same time whatever did happen will still be there in their memories, festering like an old wound."

"Ugh!" Amber shivered. "What a wonderful way with words you have Ram!"

The group stopped and Ram felt the rope that joined him to the rest of the group go slack. Trudy came over and took Brady from Ram. Fixing a piece of string around Brady's wrist, with the other end tied firmly around her own, Trudy straightened up.

"Jay wants to stop here for the night," she said, smiling. "At least, for what he thinks is the night. He's found a sort of alcove we can put the buckets and everything in and it's flat enough for us all to lie down and sleep for a while. Brady and I will keep a space under a blanket for you and Bray, Amber."

"I'll come and join you in a bit," Amber replied, handing over the blankets she was carrying.

"I suppose Jay will be wanting some of these for supper?" Ram asked, holding out the bucket.

"I don't think we're eating tonight," Trudy laughed. "Jay want's to make the food last as long as possible. I'll put it with the rest of our supplies though."

"She certainly seems to know what Jay wants," Ram breathed as Trudy disappeared in the direction of the torch light.

"Stop trying to stir things up!" Amber snapped. "Trudy is no more attracted to Jay than Ebony is to Jack, or I am to you!"

"I merely tell it like it is!" Ram laughed. "Attraction is a powerful thing. Sometimes you don't notice it until something makes the penny drop, like a catalyst in a chemical reaction. Once it's there, however, and you're aware of it, ignoring it will not make it go away. Especially not when you're faced with the object of your attraction every day!"

"Well, then, oh mighty oracle," said Amber, her voice dripping with cynicism. "What do you suggest to get rid of it?"

"Oh, it's a simple enough remedy," Ram whispered, tugging the rope that tied Amber to him so that she stepped forward until only her infant son filled the gap between them. She felt Ram lean forward until his breath traced a line up her neck. When his lips were level with her ear he whispered: "Give in."

****

Ebony eased the door aside and stepped quietly into the room. She couldn't sleep. She hadn't slept the first night here either. All that time lying curled up in a cold, damp boat or in a cold, dark cave and she had dreamt of the time she could lie down to sleep in a soft bed again. Now that she had one, she found her thoughts plagued with memories and daydreams that chased sleep away like strong coffee. Most of those, no, all of those thoughts were about the chalet's only other occupant. The one whose room she was sneaking into now.

Wrapping the blanket around herself, she sat down in the round basket woven chair and curled her legs under her. By the bright moonlight shining through the window, she could see his clothes scattered on the floor. One boot lay on its side, the other was right way up but at an odd angle to the wall. The jacket hung on the back of the door. The shirt hung haphazardly over the end of the bedstead. The t-shirt was crumpled in a heap on the floor. So were the jeans. The socks lay close by.

Ebony raised an eyebrow. The devil on her shoulder was wondering just what he had left on under that duvet. The angel on her other shoulder reminded her he was with Ellie, and that nothing good ever came from meddling in other people's love lives.

Closing her eyes, she let her mind go back to the caves, to that kiss. The feelings of shock, fury, indignation and rebellion that had immediately filled her when he had first pressed his lips against hers. The way they had faded into helplessness as she had realised, with yet another shock, that Jack was stronger than she was. The shiver that had run down her spine and through her entire body when their tongues met. How fast her heart had been beating when he pulled away from her. How fast she had felt his heart beating. How hungrily their lips, and bodies, had collided that second time. The passion that had coloured that kiss and everything that had happened since.

A movement from the bed brought Ebony's eyes open with a start. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he was still asleep. The noise had just been him rolling on to his side. In the moonlight, something caught Ebony's eye. She rose quietly and tiptoed over to the side of the bed. Just visible above the covers were the tops of four scratch marks, each a straight, parallel line about a centimetre apart. Reaching out a hand, Ebony matched each of her four fingernails to each of the scratches. If she was right, the scratch from her thumb should start just below the level of the duvet. She gently brushed it down slightly. The fifth scratch mark stood out clearly. It appeared the kiss they had been trying so hard to forget now had five brand new witnesses.

Jack murmured in his sleep and rolled back onto his back. It was time to go. As quietly as she had arrived, Ebony made her way out of the room, pausing at the door to cast one more glance over the sleeping figure in the bed. Perhaps sleep might be enticed by dreams.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"The way I see it, we're better off where we are," Lex shrugged. "There's no point turning round now just to tell folks we found another bay, with a badly hidden rowing boat, no shelter, no food and no other sign of people. I mean sure, there's fresh water there and it's a lot easier to get inland, but we have fresh water back in the caves and there is nothing in this area worth going inland for. I say we keep heading round the coast. It looks like the land keeps getting flatter the further we go. We might find a settlement up there."

"Lex, we really don't have an unlimited fuel supply!" Ben retorted. "We're already almost halfway through the fuel we left with!"

"Then we'll use that sail thing Jack rigged up before we found land. It brought us this way, the current seems to be pulling us this way: we can let it carry us for a while."

"That still doesn't give us enough fuel to get back! Especially not if we have to use it turning ourselves out of a lea shore! One good storm or strong wind and we could find ourselves in a whole other world of trouble!"

Throughout the animated discussion taking place before him, Darryl had remained silent. Quietly, almost apologetically, he raised his hand.

"Maybe we don't have to go back," he suggested. "M-Maybe not with this boat anyway."

Lex and Ben looked at Darryl as is he had just suggested hitching a lift on an alien spacecraft.

"Maybe we just need enough fuel to get back to here," Darryl continued, "then we can take the rowing boat back round to the caves."

"You want me to abandon my boat?" Ben cried, incensed.

"No, no, he might be on to something!" Lex put a restraining hand on Ben's arm. "I mean, who's going to steal a boat out here, right mate? The one on the shore has been there for ages. You saw the canvas that had been hiding it: it had been blown half way along the beach. It must have taken some storm to shift the rocks holding it down and we haven't had a storm like that for well over two weeks now. This thing won't be much use to anyone without fuel anyway."

"But it's MY boat!" Ben gritted his teeth. "This boat has been my home and my living since the virus first broke out!"

"Come on, man," Darryl shrugged. "We've all had to leave our homes."

XXXX

"Are you still trying to make this a bad idea?" Ebony dumped another load of sticks in the pile Jack had started next to the cabin. "We have firewood, fresh water, beds to sleep in. It's more than the Gaians started out with if her majesty is to be believed."

"Something just doesn't feel right, okay," Jack shrugged, checking over his repairs to the roof of the cabin porch. "Humour me."

Climbing down from the roof, Jack picked up his bag and handed Ebony hers. If his calculations, and memory, were correct, it would take them about four hours to reach the tunnel exit. He'd been up since dawn, checking over the cabins and gathering what provisions he could find, and had been surprised when Ebony joined him soon after. Together they had collected enough wood to start a decent fire, several buckets to water and half bucket of berries, mushrooms and, although Ebony wrinkled her nose at them and left the task to Jack, a sizeable quantity of nettles. It wasn't much, but it would give the others a chance to sort their stuff out and get some proper hunting done once they got them here.

Neither Jack nor Ebony had a clear idea of how long the journey through the caves and tunnels of the island had taken, but both were certain it had taken more than a day. They had slept once and eaten three times in the tunnels. It had taken them a full day to walk from the cliffs to the woodland campsite. They were now banking on the rest of the tribe taking another half day to find their way out of the caves. Not wanting to arrive too early and without the provisions to spend a long time waiting out in the open, the plan was to arrive at the tunnels around noon, wait there until evening, then use the rest of the light to get back to the campsite, leaving a marker pointing the way if necessary.

"You do realise I'm keeping this cabin when we all get back here," Ebony breezed as they started walking.

"Really? It's a bit big," Jack replied glancing back over his shoulder. "Who are you planning on sharing it with?"

"Who says I have to share with anyone?" Ebony shrugged. "There are plenty cabins."

"Yeah, but I hate to break it to you: they're not all ready for living in. From what I've seen, we'll barely fit us all in as it is. I'm afraid you're going to have to share with somebody."

"They don't look that bad," Ebony began.

"Try looking at them from above, then you see the holes in the roofs."

"We can fix them."

"You mean I can fix them."

"Well, you and Slade and Jay..."

"Not that you're stereotyping men at all..."

"They have their uses."

"Everybody will have work to do when we get them back there."

"Yeah, and I bet I know who you expect to do the cooking!"

XXXX

Amber hadn't slept well. It wasn't so much the fact that she was in total darkness. Nor was it the fact that her bed for the night was a cold, hard, bumpy rock floor. It wasn't even the incessant snoring from Jay or the vague midnight mumblings from Sammy. What had kept a hold on Amber's mind, denying her sleep, was the continual replay of the previous day's journey going on in her head every time she closed her eyes. She was glad they were still surrounded by darkness when the others finally awoke: that would hide the bags under her eyes.

She wasn't sure if it was her conversation with Ram in general, or the insinuations he had made about Trudy in particular that was bothering her. All she could think of was how his last word before settling down for the night had stuck in her head, repeating themselves over and over in her mind.

"Amber? Amber!" Jay's voice cut through Amber's reverie, bringing her back to the situation around her.

"Yeah, yes, I'm here," she stammered, still distracted. "What is it Jay?"

"We're all ready to go. Have you got everything?"

"Yes," Amber put a hand down to the pair of blankets at her side and ran her other hand protectively over her son's head. "Yes, I have everything. I'm ready."

"Well, come on then: I've put you at the end of the line again. Sammy's here: he's in front of you this time. Try and stop him picking another fight with Lottie, will you?"

As she hoisted her pack onto her back once more and retook her place in the chain, Amber closed her eyes and prayed that the end of the tunnels would appear soon.

XXXX

Cerrin watched as the three men made their way back out to their boat and began hoisting up a makeshift sail. They were going to steal the rowing boat on their way back: he had heard them. If he ran, he could make it back to the village before nightfall. His replacement was due to relieve him the day after tomorrow, but that wouldn't be long enough to get word back to the village and bring back their fighters before the men might return. From the rest of their unguarded conversation, he knew they would be gone at least two days, maybe three. If he left now it would mean leaving their one and only boat unprotected, but at least it would give them a chance of saving it when the men did reappear. He was too small to move the rowing boat himself, so, when the men had disappeared around the headland, Cerrin picked himself up and ran, as fast as his legs could carry him, back along the path towards home.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"It's getting late, Jack," Ebony sighed, pushing herself to her feet. "We should start heading back."

"Just a little longer," Jack waved a hand in the vague direction of Ebony's voice. He was lying flat on the ground by the entrance to the tunnels with his ear pressed to the rock. "I think I hear them."

"You've said that five times now," said Ebony, standing her ground. "It's less than three hours to sunset, Jack. Even if we leave now and hurry, we'll be walking in the dark by the time we get back!"

Jack rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky. It was a deep azure blue, paling towards the west where the sun was slowly sinking.

"We'll have plenty of light," he said. "It was nearly a full moon last night and there's no clouds to get in the way."

"Great, so we'll just freeze instead," Ebony retorted, wrapping her arms around her midriff and dropping down to sit sullenly beside Jack once more.

"H-Here," he said, sitting up and shrugging off his bright orange and blue jacket and draping it over Ebony's red covered shoulders. "Wear that, if you're so cold. Some of us don't choose our clothes just based on what they look like in the mirror!"

"I didn't mean..." Ebony began, but Jack was already turned away from her, his ear against the rock face once more.

Ebony pulled the jacket round her. It was warm, certainly. The warmth of Jack's body lingered in the fabric. If she closed her eyes and concentrated, she could fool herself into imagining it was Jack himself wrapping his arms around her, not just his jacket.

Ebony shook her head. She couldn't let herself get caught that way. Idle imaginings were one thing, but they wouldn't help her get rid of this bizarre and inexplicable crush she seemed to have developed. She would have to get rid of it: anything else was not an option. Standing by like some lovelorn schoolgirl and watching while Jack set up a home with Ellie would be torture. On the other hand, trying to split the couple up was just out of the question. Ellie was the love of his life: he wouldn't leave her. Not when the prospect of a happy-ever-after ending was just around the corner. As far as Ellie was concerned, Jack was the only man for her and always had been. There was no guarantee she'd change that opinion even if she did remember Luke. Perhaps not even if Luke himself turned up and begged her to.

Shaking her head again, to banish the treacherous thoughts that were creeping up in her mind, Ebony lay down on the hillside, rolling herself away from the tunnel entrance and Jack. To think of deliberately bringing Luke back into their lives just to split Jack and Ellie up was cruel. It wouldn't just break Jack's heart to lose her like that again, it would destroy him. To hurt him like that was unthinkable. She'd always known herself to be selfish, it was partly why she had survived this long, but that was a new low to which even Ebony didn't want to think of herself sinking.

A noise from behind her brought Ebony's mind back to where she was. She sat up and looked around. In the growing dusk she could see Jack standing up, leaning down to the tunnel entrance and holding out a hand to someone. A breeze whispered past Ebony's cheek, chilling it, and she raised a hand to identify the source of the sudden cold. Her fingers jumped away from her cheek unbidden, as if they were stung. They were wet. Not from damp grass or rain, but from tears. One tear perhaps, bearing silent witness to the growing pain she was hiding.

Brushing the tear away, Ebony stood up. Jay was out of the tunnels now and turning back to help the next person. Expecting it to be Amber, Ebony stood back when the blonde head first appeared, then frowned when the rest of Brady's body followed it. Trudy came next, followed by Lottie. Then it seemed that there was a problem. The rope that linked the group together was stuck: caught on something underground. Jack's penknife cut through the rope and the three girls and Jay moved over to one side, Jay untying his end of the rope as he did so and hurrying back to Jack. Lottie tugged impudently at the knot around her waist, ignoring Trudy's urging that they would be better to remain linked together until they got to somewhere safer. Ebony walked over to the group.

"For a thief, you're not much of an escapologist, are you?" Ebony quipped, brushing Lottie's fumbling fingers aside and untying the knot.

"A what?" Lottie frowned, dodging the hand Trudy reached out for her.

"Well, you certainly seemed pleased with yourself, Ebony," Trudy sneered. "Funny, I didn't think blue and orange were quite your colours."

"Amazed to find there's still a gentleman in this world, are you Trudy?" Ebony bristled. "Where's Amber, by the way?"

Turning away, and letting Trudy steam with incipient rage, Ebony looked over to see Jay and Jack dragging Slade and Ruby out of the tunnels, followed by Gel. Ram was already out and, when Slade untied himself and turned to help Jay, Ebony saw Ram lead Jack off to one side. The next person out was May, but Ebony didn't get a chance to see who followed her as Gel stormed over to her friend, brushing past Ebony on the way, and began demanding the beauty bag Lottie had been carrying for her. Ebony watched with raised eyebrow, her back to the tunnels, as Gel directed Lottie in mirror holding duty while she fixed her hair and makeup.

"Hold still! You keep losing the light!" Gel huffed.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Gel, it'll be dark soon and nobody will be able to see you!" Ebony remonstrated.

"But I have cobwebs and dust all over me!" Gel wailed.

Sighing, Ebony reached over, plucked the mirror and bag out of Lottie's hands and put the mirror away. She was about to speak when a hand fell on her shoulder.

"Jack?" Ellie began. Her surprise was evident even in the twilight when Ebony turned to face her.

"Guess again, Goldilocks," Ebony quipped.

"Where's Jack?" Ellie asked, puffing herself up with indignation. "And why are you wearing his jacket?"

"Don't start Ellie," Ebony sighed. "Jack's with Ram. Or he was the last I saw him."

"And the jacket?" Ellie folded her arms as she spoke.

"I was cold. He gave it to me."

"And why would he do that, exactly?"

"Because maybe chivalry isn't dead yet, Ellie," Ebony snapped. "Or don't you trust your beloved boyfriend?"

"It's you I don't trust!"

"Believe me: if I wanted to take advantage of Jack, it wouldn't be for his taste in clothes!"

"Oh really? And what would it be for?"

"Go away, Ellie."

"Keep your hands off him, Ebony?"

"Yeah? Or what? You'll try and kill me again?"

"Third time lucky!"

"You wish!"

"HEY!" Ebony and Ellie looked round at the shout. It was Jack. The bright moonlight he had predicted showed his form clearly. He was hurrying towards them, followed by the rest of the tribe. Inwardly, Ebony cringed.

"What the hell is going on here!" Jack demanded, standing between the two girls, a hand on Ellie's shoulder, holding her back.

"Here," Ebony shrugged the jacket off her shoulders and handed it back to him. "You'd better have this back. You're girlfriend disapproves."

The walk back to the campsite was uneventful. Ebony stayed out of Ellie's, and therefore Jack's, way, choosing to bring up the rear of the party rather than lead. She had spotted a few questioning glances from some of the others, most notably Amber for some reason, but nobody else had bothered to talk to her. She was, once again, the outcast of the group.

The moon was high when they finally arrived at the campsite. Jack directed everyone to the chalets that were suitable, parcelling people off in groups easily. Ruby and Slade he grouped with the kids and Gel. Salene and May with himself and Ellie. Trudy and Brady with Jay, Amber and baby Bray. That left her with Ram. At least she got a room to herself, she thought, dragging her tired body towards the cabin indicated. It was spacious at least, with two rooms on one side of the central, open plan, living area and one on the other.

"What's the matter, Ebony?" Ram drawled with unhidden amusement. "Hoping for a more "chivalrous" roomie?"

"Go to bed, Ram," Ebony put on her best saccharine smile. "In that room, over there, as far away from mine as possible."

XXXX

"You have to hurry!" Cerrin pleaded, tugging at his leader's voluminous skirt. "They could come back any time."

"Be at peace, Cerrin," sighed the young man off to Cerrin's left. He was the leader's friend and advisor and the tribe's spiritual guide. "If all you say is true, we will be there in plenty of time to meet our new friends."

"Besides," the leader smiled down at Cerrin, her hand resting on his small head, "it won't do us any good to arrive early and unprepared."

"If the boat you saw is the same one I did," the advisor began, "then there are more than just three men to worry about. The boat I saw was filled with people. Men, women and children."

"You think it's the same one?" Cerrin asked.

"I find it hard to believe two such vessels should arrive at our shores in so short a time span."

"I agree," the leader nodded, others around the village meeting point nodding also. "What do you suggest we do, Luke?"

"It looks to me," Luke, the advisor, replied, "that they do not know of our existence yet. They may suspect there are others on the island, but they don't know who we are or where we are. That puts the greatest threat just now upon the boat. If we send our entire force to meet these men, we will not only leave the village undefended, but we will remove any doubts they may have that the island is inhabited. I suggest we send a small contingent. We will remove the boat and hide it further inland, if we arrive before the men, and we will wait to see who these men are. It may be, and indeed it is likely, that they are simply in search of a new home and the means by which to live there. If that is the case, we may be able to help them."

"I thought you said they weren't alone, though," the leader countered. "If we help them, it means helping their friends as well. We don't have room for more than another four people here, five at the most. Not without building further out."

"Maybe not, but there are other places on this island to live in. With our help, if they wish it, they could settle in any number of places."

"And if they don't wish it? Or if they wish to settle here?"

"We don't bring them back here," Luke nodded in thought. "That would be too risky. If they need our help, I'll go with them: find them somewhere suitable and show them where to find food and water."

"That could be risky for you," the leader rubbed a hand over her chin thoughtfully. "What if they decide not to let you go?"

"I'll follow them," said another young man, another of the leader's close friends, this one on Cerrin's, and the leader's, right hand side. "I can still disappear when I want to."

"Okay," the leader nodded, absently stroking the head of the child at her knee. "Be careful, both of you. Take Sinna and Cal. That leaves one person on guard by our harbour and another to bring news back. There should be food spare for three days each. Take your share, your weapons and go." Raising her head, the leader asked the congregation there: "any objectors?"

The villagers shook their heads and began filing away, their duty done. When they were alone, Sinna and Cal having gone to collect the necessary supplies, the leader turned to her friends.

"Be honest, Luke," she said. "What are the chances that it's them?"

"I don't know," he replied. "I couldn't see clearly from the cliff top. All I know is one of them had bright red hair, like Salene, and there were others there with blonde hair, but I couldn't make out any more detail. Of the men Cerrin described, one certainly sounds like Lex, but I don't recognise the other two. It's possible, if they are Lex and Sal, that the rest are with them, but don't hope too high."

"Even if it is just Lex alone, it would be good to know he's well."

"Indeed," Luke nodded. "If it is he, I will surely send you word and do my utmost to help him."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As tired as she was, Ebony didn't sleep much that night. As soon as dawn broke over the forest, she was up and out of the chalet. Ram might be the only member of the tribe willing to share a cabin with her, but that didn't mean she was eager to spend every night wondering what new barbed comments he would throw her way. She looked round the rest of the standard wooden buildings in the campsite. There were at least a dozen, some larger, some smaller. The largest were the hut that Slade, Ruby and the kids were in and the one opposite, which housed Jay and his harem. The former was the building she had shared with Jack on each of their nights here previously. It was the better kept of the two and consequentially, the more secure.

Ebony looked round the buildings again, wondering what the interior of the smaller cabins was like. The one she had shared with Jack had two double rooms, two single rooms, one with a bunk bed, a bathroom and a shower room, in addition to the standard central area of kitchen, dining room and lounge. The hut she had shared with Ram had only one bathroom, a double room, a twin room and a single room. The other two occupied huts looked about the same size as the three-bedroom version, so she moved on, out of the cluster of habitable dwellings and into the campsite at large.

The cabins seemed to decrease in size as she moved away from the main body of huts. On the outskirts of the campsite, Ebony found one cabin that suited her purpose. It was of the smallest type, which contained one double room, a bathroom and a single room. The windows were shuttered and intact. The door was hanging off its hinges, but that could be fixed. There was a hole in the roof above the dining table and it was obvious that some type of birds had got in and remained for a while. The single bedroom was closed and had therefore been spared much intrusion. The other rooms would need a good clean out though.

It was better than the other small cabins she'd been in, thought Ebony, pulling a brush out of the cupboard beside the bathroom. She could clean out most of the detritus in an hour or so. Once the rest of the tribe were awake, she could find someone to help her fix the door. Jay might be a safe bet, she thought, considering Ellie's attitude of the night before. There was no way she was asking Ram for help. Ruby and Slade simply wouldn't give her the time of day. Trudy was being, well, Trudy. May or Salene might help, but they seemed to be spending all their time with Ellie, so she wasn't going to hold her breath waiting for a positive response from them. Gel was useless. Sammy and Lottie weren't much better, although Lottie was at least still talking to her. That only left Jay and Amber.

Once the door was fixed, she would have to do something about the roof. Everything was wooden, so a few planks from one of the less reparable cabins might do the job. She could handle that one well enough. She could sleep in the single room until she'd scrubbed everywhere else. That would probably take the longest time. After that, it was all just cosmetic.

Ebony straightened up and looked at the central room. She had been working as her mind wandered and now, with the exception of the area right under the table, the room was clear of the worst of the dirt. The bathroom, small as it was, didn't take much sweeping, although the bath would need a good clean before she ever used it, so Ebony was busily sweeping out the main bedroom, and trying to keep her mind on the job, when she heard the knock at the door.

"Hey," said a voice. "Are you okay?"

Ebony looked up to see Amber at the bedroom door, a bucket of water in one hand and another sitting on the swept floor.

"Fine," Ebony shrugged. "Just trying to get this place cleaned up."

"Are you sure?" Amber persisted, frowning. "You look like you've been crying, Ebony."

Ebony raised a hand to her eyes: they were damp. She hadn't realised.

"Just the dust," she shrugged, turning away from Amber. "There's a lot of it. Well, there was."

"Oh-kay," said Amber slowly. "I'm just taking these up to the others," she indicated the buckets of water. "Jay's got a campfire going in the main fire pit. You've missed breakfast, you know."

"I'm not hungry."

"Okay, fine," Amber picked up her buckets and turned to go. Halfway across the living area, she paused and turned back. "I'll come down and give you a hand once I've delivered these," she said. "You'll need some water for scrubbing this floor. I'll ask Jack if he can fix that door for you, and the roof."

"I can manage."

"The door's a two person job."

"Fine: you can help me with it if you want."

"But not Jack?"

"Amber..." Ebony's tone grew tenser.

"What? Ellie has a tantrum so you won't let me ask our best handyman to help fix this place up? He's helping everyone else, why should you be left out?"

"You really need to ask that?" Ebony cried, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Ellie obviously has a problem with me: always has! Anything I do will be taken as an attempt to steal her man."

"That's never bothered you before! Even when you actually were trying to steal somebody's boyfriend!"

"She's already tried to kill me twice. You heard her last night!"

"I also heard you stand up to her! What's gotten into you? You know you'd beat Ellie hands down in a fight!"

"Maybe, but Ellie doesn't do fights, does she. Not physical ones anyway. She plants bombs, she creeps in when you're sleeping..."

"All the more reason to make sure the door's secure!" Amber put the water buckets down again and turned to face Ebony properly. "Besides, you know Ellie was half crazy when she tried to kill you before. She's not now. A little overprotective, maybe, but that's all."

"All the same: I don't need her attitude, I already have one. And if I have to keep away from Jack to get some peace here, then I guess that's just what I'll have to do. I get the feeling I'm not flavour of the month with anyone up there right now."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ebony! If it wasn't for you, we'd still be stuck in that cave, eating mushrooms!"

"I get the feeling that's less important to some people than finding yet another reason to hate me."

"Slade and Ruby will come round..."

"And Trudy? And Salene and May? I got nothing but evil looks from them last night!"

"They just saw you fighting with Ellie. Everyone could hear that you were fighting over Jack..."

"Yeah, because of his jacket! His stupid, bright, warm jacket! He put it on me because I was cold and I wanted to come back here, but he wanted to stay! Is it really so hard for everyone to believe that a guy would give a girl his jacket when she says she's cold! He was just being nice! Polite! That's the kind of guy he is! He is a nice guy! That's not my fault! I can't help it if his psycho girlfriend decides to go nuts because of it! But somehow, I still get the blame! I always get the blame!"

In the silence that followed Ebony's tirade, Amber folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Feeling better?"

Ebony shrugged and nodded.

"I'd better get going before Jay comes looking for me," said Amber. "I'll come back down, like I said. And I'll bring a few extra hands too, I think."

Before Ebony could get her breath back, Amber had picked up the buckets and left. Ebony fell back against the wall and stood there, cursing her temper and counting the planks of wood in the roof to stop herself turning round and punching the wall in frustration.

XXXX

"Where have you been?" Jay asked, hurrying over to relieve Amber of her buckets. "I was starting to get worried about you!"

"I'm fine, I just stopped to ask Ebony if she needed a hand with anything," Amber massaged her hands, thankful for the relief from the weight of the two buckets. She watched Jay carry the water over to one side and noticed Jack working on the stairs up to one of the larger cabins. His eyes flicked over to her momentarily, then back to what he was doing, and Amber knew he was listening. "She's in one of the smallest cabins," Amber continued, aiming her words at Jay, "I said I'd go down and give her a hand scrubbing the floors, but we could do with some help fixing the door: it's hanging off its hinges. One good storm will take it right off. Plus there's a hole in the roof that needs mending. An extra pair of hands would be good."

"I am way too busy here, Amber," Jay called over his shoulder. "Everybody's busy fixing up their own places. See if the kids want to help. You can handle the door right?"

"Yeah, right," muttered Amber under her breath. She glanced about the clearing and spotted Lottie. "Lottie," she called. "Go get Sammy and get over here."

The little girl looked up, hearing her name, and nodded at the command. Sammy wasn't far away: they'd been picking up feathers and stones and things to decorate the cabins with. By the time the two had run up to Amber's side, though, she was aware that the hammering on the stairs behind her had stopped.

"You need a hand?" Jack asked, joining the group quietly. "I've finished here for now."

"Doesn't Ellie need you for something?" Amber teased.

"Nah," Jack shrugged. He looked Amber straight in the eye when he continued: "and she can't complain if you're there too."

Amber frowned. So he was worried about Ellie too? Maybe she shouldn't be surprised about that: Jack had almost always done whatever Ellie asked him to, when it didn't get in the way of whatever he was doing for the tribe in general. This was something he didn't have to do and that he knew Ellie would object to. For a moment, Amber's mind flitted back to her conversation with Ram in the cave. Was there something for Ellie to complain about? She opened her mouth to ask Jack just that, then thought better of it.

"Sure, Jack, that would be great," she said instead.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"I hope you guys are good swimmers," said a voice from the front of the boat.

Lex looked round. It was Ben who had spoken. The erstwhile skipper had been at the helm for the past hour, but this was the first time he'd spoken in the entire journey back from their campsite of the previous night. They'd sailed far enough round the island to find a river delta, the land around it lush and green, but flat and likely to flood in the rain. After spending some time scouting out the area around the north of delta, back towards the higher ground they had passed on the way, they had decided it might make a good place to lead the rest of the group. The only question, of course, was how to get there.

They had spent the night camped up the hill to the north of the delta, then started back on their return journey, each taking turns at the helm. Ben had taken the first watch, Darryl the second and Lex the third. Now Ben was back at the helm and steering them round the headland to the cove where they had seen the rowing boat.

Even as Lex opened his mouth to ask, he heard the engine sputter. That was it then: the last of their fuel was going. He could see the beach ahead. The water didn't look too deep, but they were still considerably further out than they had been the last time they were here. A prevailing north wind wasn't helping matters and, as the engine finally died, Lex heard Ben release the boat's anchor to stop them going backwards.

"Come on," he said, dragging Darryl to his feet. "We'd better get going while the going's good."

Ben, silent once more, looked over at Lex, then round at the boat, then back to the shore. He nodded and climbed over the side. With a bit more prodding from Lex, Darryl did likewise. Bringing up the rear of the group, Lex dropped down into the chilly water and headed for shore.

It took a good half hour fighting an ebb tide before the three men made it to the safety of the beach. Wet and bedraggled, they lay on the sand, letting the air rush into their lungs and the heat return to their bodies. It was after midday but the sun was warm and their clothes were already starting to dry when Lex heard Darryl stir.

"Where's the boat gone?" Darryl said, the frown evident in his tone.

"What?" Lex looked up and out to sea. The boat was still anchored where they had left it, if a little further south. "It's right there!"

"No, not that one," Darryl chided. "The other boat. The little one. The rowing boat."

Lex looked round and groaned. Darryl was right. The rowing boat had gone. It hadn't been hidden under more canvas or seaweed or grass. It hadn't been buried in the sand, as far as he could see anyway. It had just vanished.

"Great!" Ben groaned from his other side. "All that way and it's not even here any more!"

"Yeah," said Lex, suddenly thoughtful, "it's not."

"What is it?" Darryl asked, picking up on Lex's tone.

"Huh?" Ben muttered, looking over.

"Well, it can't have been washed out to sea," said Lex, sitting up then pushing himself to his feet. "It was too far up the beach."

"So what?" Darryl sat up and looked round to where Lex was walking towards the rowing boat's previous position. "What does that mean?"

"It mean's somebody moved it, ya idiot!" Lex shouted back. "It means there's somebody else here!"

Lex watched as Darryl and Ben scrambled to their feet and headed hurriedly towards him, pointing. Turning, Lex saw a group of three young men rise out of the grass covered dune behind the beach. At the front of the group was a bright blue topped head he recognised instantly.

"Luke!"

XXXX

"Where is he!"

"Ellie, calm down!" Salene hurried after the younger woman, a wet cleaning rag still in her hand.

"Calm down? From the moment I woke up this morning, I've hardly seen him!" Ellie shrieked, storming through the campsite. "It's like he's avoiding me, Salene! And it's all that evil witch's doing! Ever since he went off with her he's been different! She's got her claws into him! Turned him against me!"

"Okay, you know what?" Salene put a hand on Ellie's shoulder and spun her round. "I've had just about enough of this! I can't believe this, Ellie, but I think I actually feel sorry for Ebony! I do! You've been treating Jack terribly these past few weeks! Ever since we left the city, in fact, if not before! At first, I was willing to put it down to everything that was going on around us. Then I was willing to put it down to your own problems. Now, though, I'm getting a different picture! You're not like I was, back when I married Ryan! You're like Trudy was just after she had Brady! Jealous of anyone that went near Bray and treating the person she thought was her biggest threat like dirt! I should know: it was me she was gunning for! Only you are actually with Jack and Ebony probably hasn't done the slightest thing to deserve your criticism!"

"What nothing? Not a thing?" Ellie threw her hands up. "I know I don't remember everything, Salene, but I remember Ebony! She took him away from me before and now she's doing it again!"

"Jack got captured by Technos, Ellie: there was nothing she could have done then! And how you get from Ebony watching Jack get caught to her trying to what? Seduce him? Really? This is Jack we're talking about, Ellie! Jack! The guy who has loved you since he first set eyes on you! Do you have any idea how lucky you are? How few people get that? Not to mention how few people get to keep that love after all the other nonsense you put him through! Ebony certainly isn't the only person to get Jack into trouble with the enemy, Ellie! And she's certainly never broken his heart!"

Salene stopped abruptly, suddenly aware that she had said too much. The look on Ellie's face gave it away, even if the stilled movement and intrusive gazes of the others around them hadn't already done so. It felt as if the entire tribe had just taken a collective breath, waiting for the penny to drop.

"I broke his heart?" Ellie said, very quietly, her eyes fixed on Salene's. "I don't remember that, Sal."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Salene shook her head and looked away. "Forget I did."

"I've had enough of forgetting Salene! Tell me what happened!"

"It's better you remember on your own."

"Tell me!" Ellie's voice was firm.

XXXX

"I need more nails, Sammy," Jack called down from his perch on the roof. "See if you can find me two more planks as well, same size as the last ones!"

"How many nails?" Sammy called back up.

"Ah, ten, at least. Fourteen would be better."

"I'm on it!"

"How's it going up there?"

Jack craned his neck to see Amber looking up at him.

"Nearly done," he called back down. "Just a few more planks to make sure it holds."

"You're doing great."

"Yeah, Dal would have been better at this," Jack shrugged one shoulder. "He'd probably tell me I should have put the planks a different way or the nails in different places..."

"He'd be proud of you! Mr Practicality!"

"Yeah," Jack gave a tired laugh. "Yeah, he'd of liked it here."

"Yeah, he would," Amber nodded. "I don't think he'd have much luck finding tomatoes for his ketchup, though."

"No," Jack smiled and looked up. The first thing he saw was Sammy, running helter skelter towards the cabin, and his smile faded.

"Jack, you need to get down here!" Sammy called up, panting for breath as he arrived. "It's Ellie!"

"What!" Jack scrambled to the edge of the roof and clambered down. "What's happened? Where is she?"

"She's with Salene! They had a blazing row! Everybody saw them! Then they went off together somewhere! Now she's heading down here! She's looking for you!"

"Well, is she okay? Is she hurt?" Jack took hold of the boy and shook him gently. "Come on, Sammy! I thought we were being attacked the way you came running down that hill!"

"Jack, leave him be!" Amber pushed Jack's hands away and turned Sammy to face her. "Now tell me Sammy: why all the fuss? Why were you in such a rush to tell Jack that Ellie's looking for him?"

"Because when I asked May what was going on, she said Ellie had started to remember stuff!" Sammy breathed in wide eyed terror. "She said Ellie'd started to remember everything! And that she knew Jack was down here with Ebony and she's upset and she needs to talk to him!"

It didn't take a psychologist to hear the meaning in that last phrase. The emphasis the boy had put on the word "talk" was clear enough. Sammy didn't like arguments and he was obviously sensing another one about to erupt. Jack looked over and caught Amber's eye.

"I'll tell Ebony to stay out of the way," she said, heading into the cabin. "Sammy, go look for those planks and nails. Lottie, go help him."

As the children disappeared in the direction of the other cabins, Jack looked up and saw Ellie, flanked by May and Salene, heading down towards him. A myriad of possibilities ran through his mind. Was she just on her way down here to fight about Ebony again or had she really remembered everything? If she had remembered everything, that meant she had remembered Luke. If she remembered Luke, would she still want to be with him, Jack? For that matter, if she had come for another fight, did he still want to be with her?

Jack took a deep breath and walked down the cabin steps as Ellie approached. Whatever she had to say, it would do him no good avoiding it.

"We need to talk!" The first words Ellie spoke were clear and to the point.

"I'm listening," said Jack.

"I asked you not to come here," Ellie waved a hand in the direction of the hut.

"No, you told me I was to keep away from Ebony, Ellie," Jack pointed out, sitting down on the bottom step. "That's not quite the same thing."

"This is Ebony's cabin, isn't it?"

"Yes," Jack kept his answers short and to the point.

"And is she in there?" Ellie folded her arms defensively.

"I really have no idea," Jack shrugged, quite honestly for he really didn't know whether Amber had just asked Ebony to stay inside the building or to sneak out the back and make herself scarce.

"So you haven't spoken to her?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but no, I haven't."

"Then who asked you to come and work here?" Ellie's voice betrayed that she obviously thought she had won her point.

"I did," said Amber from the cabin doorway. "I saw what needed doing when I was getting water. I asked Jack to help me fix up the place."

"Can't she do it herself?" Ellie spat.

"Everyone helps each other, Ellie," said Amber sternly. "That's the way things have always worked in this tribe!"

"Jack was supposed to be helping me!"

"To do what, Ellie?" Jack retorted. "Clean windows? I'm sorry, but I think a broken door and a dodgy roof are more important!"

"I need you with me, Jack!" Ellie cried. "Now more than ever!"

"Why?" Jack got to his feet and walked forward, his brow wrinkling. "Why now more than ever, Ellie? What's changed? Sammy said he'd heard you were remembering stuff. Is that true?"

Ellie looked at her feet and nodded.

"It's more than that, though," she said, looking up and stepping towards him. "I do remember more, Jack. Maybe everything, I'm still not sure, but it's more than that."

"Do you remember Luke?" Jack watched as Ellie flinched, her reaction a clearer testament to her memory than any words could be.

"Yes, I do," she admitted. "And I'm sorry about that, Jack. Really: I am. But I need you now, not Luke."

"Oh really?" Jack's eyebrows went up in disbelief. "That's handy, you know: what with me being here and him not!"

"It's not like that!"

"Then what is it like, Ellie: explain it to me! Please!"

"I'm pregnant!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Jack stood with his back to Ellie and Salene, leaning on the kitchen counter. May had stayed outside, making sure they weren't disturbed, but Salene had made sure she remained. They were in their own cabin now. The one he shared with Ellie and her two co-conspirators. That much had come out fairly quickly: that Ellie had roped in first May, then Salene to help her hide her pregnancy. The corset, no longer necessary, now lay on the table in the middle of the room, Ellie and Salene sitting opposite one another on either side of it.

He needed time to think. If she'd said something earlier, given him some sort of clue, maybe he wouldn't be feeling quite so overwhelmed by all this. On the one hand, he was angry: angry that Ellie had kept such a secret from him, and that she'd gone to such lengths to do so. On the other hand, he was terrified. How long had Ellie been back? Three months? Four? That would put her due date right in the middle of winter, and in a landscape none of them knew well, with no pharmacies and a still unknown food supply. He wasn't sure they would have enough to get them through the winter as it was without having a baby to worry about. Even without worrying about the practical side of things, there was the fact he was going to be a father. It wasn't something he'd ruled out, but the prospect of kids had always been something on a distant horizon, not a twentieth birthday present!

"Say something, Jack, please!" Ellie murmured, breaking the weighty silence.

"Like what, Ellie?" Jack shrugged without turning round. "I mean it's not like we've got enough to worry about right now, is it? We have finally found somewhere to live: fine. We have a water supply: great. But we have no food, limited fuel and virtually no raw materials! And yet somehow we're going to have to feed, clothe and keep warm a whole new person! Great! And in the middle of winter too!"

"Not quite the middle," Ellie corrected.

"Pardon me for being maybe what: a month out?" Jack threw up his hands and turned to face the girls. "I mean do you actually know when you're due? How far along you are? What is it? Two months? Three?"

Ellie opened her mouth to reply and caught a glare from Salene. Her shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes. She couldn't watch Jack's face.

"More like five," she whispered, wincing.

Salene looked from Ellie to Jack. In all the years she'd known him, she'd never seen him turn so pale. He looked as though his world had just imploded. He was watching Ellie, staring at her as if she had suddenly sprouted two heads. Salene looked back at Ellie. Her head was down, but it was clear from the drops on the table that she was crying.

"Did you know?" Jack's voice was shaking.

"What?" Ellie looked up, frowning.

"When you asked me if we had slept together before. Did you know then?"

The renewed flood of tears from Ellie was enough to answer that question. Jack leant back against the kitchen work top and tugged at his hair.

"Was that... Was that the only reason?" Jack cried, shrugging and gesticulating wildly. "I mean did you ever, for a moment, actually care about me? About how this would end? You can't possibly have thought that I wouldn't notice, Ellie! What, did you just hope I'd lose count? Let two whole months disappear from my memory? Or did you expect me to believe that you could go into labour at seven months and deliver a full term baby? I might not be an expert on the subject, but I think I'd notice that much difference!"

"I hoped it was yours!" Ellie screamed, throwing her chair back and turning to face Jack, her makeup streaked and smudged. "Don't you get it? I wanted it to be yours! I was so relieved when you told me we'd slept together because I knew I was pregnant and I couldn't remember how it happened and maybe, just maybe, if we'd been together before I went missing it might be yours! Then you told me we hadn't and I didn't know what to do! I didn't know how to tell you! I was terrified, Jack! I'd only just found you again! I didn't want to lose you!"

"Ellie, I'm sorry, okay," said Jack, reaching out and taking Ellie's hands in his. "I'm sorry I got angry. I'm sorry I shouted at you. But how could you ever think I'd leave you like that? I have done nothing but love you since the day I met you. I can't imagine what you went through when the Technos took you away and frankly, as things stand, I don't want to! But why lie to me? You remembered me before anything else. What memories did you have of me that told you not to trust me? What did I ever do that made you think I would walk away from you? Tell me. Because it's not the fact you're pregnant that's hurting me right now. It's not even the fact that it's not my baby you're carrying. It's the fact that no matter where we go, or what we do, you always seem to feel the need to lie to me! I love you, Ellie, I really, really do. But I'm having a really hard time trusting you."

XXXX

"I don't get why you can't just take us back to your village, Luke," said Lex as he matched the blue-haired man step for step. "You know us. It's not like we're a threat to you."

"No, Lex, I know you," Luke replied. "I've never met either of your friends. My leader's instructions were clear: if you were no threat to us, I was to help you find somewhere to settle. You and the rest of your tribe."

"How do you know there are more of us?" Ben cut in. "Have you been spying on us?"

"Not as such," said Luke. "We know this island well and we keep lookouts posted on all four sides of it. It means sending people out for days at a time, but lighthouse keepers did no less in the days of the adults. We spotted your boat when you first arrived. We have been keeping a watchful eye on your progress ever since."

"How is that not spying?" Darryl asked.

"A spy enters enemy territory to gain information, Darryl," Luke explained. "We are not your enemies and you are on our territory, not the other way around."

"Never mind all that," snapped Lex. "If you've been watching us, do you know what's going on with the others?"

"They have left the caves," Luke nodded. "Two of their number led them to an old campsite in the hills."

"Yeah, that narrows things down: this place is all hills, just about!"

"Not quite," Luke dipped his head to the side. "The north-eastern corner is fairly mountainous, but the entire island slopes down towards the south-west. You got as far as the delta, I believe. You should have seen that the land around there was much lower."

"Yeah, I guess," Lex muttered his agreement. "That still doesn't help us find our friends, though."

"I will take you there myself," said Luke. "It is over a day's walk, though, even if you were to walk all day and half the night, so we will spend the night in one of our outposts first. It's small - we only expect to use it for two people at a time - but it will give us some shelter and comfort for the night."

"Is it far?" Darryl asked.

"A half day's march from the beach," Luke replied. "We started late, so we will arrive late, but it will cut down the distance you have to travel tomorrow."

"How far is that?" Darryl persisted.

"If we rise at first light and head off as soon as possible, we might get there before dusk."

"Might!" Darryl's voice went up a notch.

"It depends how fast you walk," Luke shrugged.

XXXX

"Why are you still here, Amber?" Ebony sighed as she watched her one time nemesis drag another bucket of water up the cabin steps. "I don't need a bodyguard, you know."

"Knock it off, Ebony! I come in peace!"

"Yeah? You've never bothered before."

"Well, maybe I had no reason to before."

"And you do now?"

Amber put the bucket down and straightened up.

"All I'm doing is extending a hand of friendship, Ebony," she sighed. "I'm not here to keep an eye on you for Ellie. I'm not here to make sure you don't get us into trouble. I'm just here, trying to be your friend. You're not exactly making it easy!"

"Why now?"

"I don't know," Amber shrugged. "A new start. A clean slate. Maybe because you could do with a friend right now? Maybe because I'm on your side? Because I think some people in this group are being too harsh."

"Slade and Ruby have every right to hate me."

"Granted, but the others don't. Trudy is beyond me at the moment, but May and Salene are just following Ellie and Ellie's just blowing everything out of proportion!"

"Yeah, well, bring on the pregnancy crazies!" Ebony shrugged. "She has every right to want her man around when she's carrying his child. I don't exactly have the world's greatest reputation when it comes to expectant fathers!"

"Martin might have been Brady's father, but as Zoot, he was your man, not Trudy's," Amber shrugged. "As for Bray, it was the Technos that got him, not you."

"So what, you're saying you've forgiven me? I banished you. It cost you Bray and nearly lost you your son! Are you really telling me you're letting that one go?"

"It was two years ago, Ebony!" Amber cried. "That's a long time in this world! I'll always love Bray and I'll always miss him, but I can't keep blaming people for his disappearance. Not you, not Jay, not Ram! I have to move on, Ebony, or I'll drive myself nuts. Maybe you need to do the same."

"That's easy enough to say, Amber. Not so easy to do. It seems like every time I try to move on, my past just jumps up and drags me back down again! I was the bride of Zoot, for crying out loud! Almost five years after he died, I married the guy!"

"That was Java and Mega's doing, not yours. Nobody was safe from those headset things! I should know!"

"And there's another example! My own sister driving me nuts then trying to kill me!"

"Everything has consequences, Ebony: I'm not saying they don't," said Amber picking up the bucket again. "I don't know all the details that made Java turn against you. I just know that nothing in this life ever gets any better if we keep holding grudges, especially when we hold them against ourselves. Now can we please get on with cleaning this place?"

"Don't you have a baby to look after?"

"Trudy's got him," Amber walked past Ebony and sat the bucket down on the coffee table. "Gel is helping her to avoid having to do any cleaning work. There's barely anything that needs doing in my own cabin. Everyone else has theirs under control."

Ebony rolled her eyes and sighed. It wasn't like she wasn't grateful: she had few enough friends left to be turning them away. It was more a case of not knowing how to act. She'd never had anyone she could call a real friend. Anyone who tried to be her friend was either only looking out for themselves or driven away. Even Lex, who she got on with better than most people, had propositioned her more times than she could recall. She'd argued with everyone, betrayed almost everyone, and pretty much everyone had drifted away from her in consequence. Why should any of them bother coming back now?


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Lex awoke with a crick in his neck. As nights went, it hadn't been his worst, but it was a long way from his best. He sat up, rubbing his neck and eyes. The light wasn't bright yet, but it was starting to filter through the walls of the small shack built into the hillside. He looked over at Darryl and Ben, sleeping on the floor beside him. Luke was nowhere to be seen. Pushing himself to his feet, Lex picked his way across the floor to the door and peered out warily. He knew Luke and was certainly willing to accept his help, but he neither knew nor trusted the guy well enough not to be careful.

The view outside seemed clear, so Lex edged out further. Now he could see the narrow river just down the small hill. Luke was kneeling beside it, filling a bottle with fresh water. Confident that there were no further welcoming parties hiding round the next bend, Lex made his way down to the stream.

"You're up early," he said, dipping a hand in the cool water and running it over his face.

"I said we'd have to be," Luke replied, handing Lex a bottle of water. "We have a little less than a hundred kilometres to travel today, if you want to get there before nightfall. If you'd rather break the journey, we can do that, but I should warn you: we have no outposts between here and your friends. Not ones that wouldn't take us out of our way. I very much doubt our food supply will last two days, also."

Lex nodded in understanding. "So tell me, Luke," he began. "Who else is in this new tribe of yours? Anyone we know? Some of your old Chosen buddies?"

"Yes, and yes," Luke nodded, taking the bottle back from Lex and dipping it into the water to refill it. "But we value our privacy. Our village is not large enough to house both our tribes, therefore it must remain secret until we know you are no threat. That is what my leader wishes me to find out."

"He sounds like a clever guy. Who is he?"

Luke smiled. "You would like our leader, I'm sure," he said. "Tell me how you came to be here, Lex. We talked little yesterday, and of other things, but that doesn't mean I'm not curious."

"About what?" Lex raised an eyebrow. "Ellie, by any chance?"

Luke nodded. "She was uppermost in my thoughts, I'll admit. The others too though. They were good to me. Especially at a time when many would have thrown me to the wolves."

"It's been a while. There's a lot to tell."

"Start with who was on that boat. I saw it myself, but I could only make out colours. I thought I saw Salene though?"

"Yeah, she's part of the group," Lex nodded, sitting back on the grass. "Ellie too," he raised his eyes to Luke's face and studied his features for a moment. "And Jack," he continued, watching Luke's reaction closely. "They're back together now."

"I see," Luke looked down, focussing on lifting the bottle from the stream and fastening the top on it. "And the others?"

"Amber, Trudy, their kids," Lex shrugged. "Amber had a boy, I don't know if you knew?"

"It was after I left," said Luke, settling himself on the bank beside Lex. "Although I did know she was expecting."

"She called him Bray, after his dad. Bray disappeared while she was giving birth: perfect timing as always. We think the Technos got him."

Luke nodded, taking in the information. "Are they the only ones left?"

"There's May too," Lex sighed. "We'd be dead without her: she got us the boat!"

"That sounds like May."

"And Ebony, of course."

"Of course."

"The rest, I don't think you know."

"Tell me about them," Luke persisted. "Not all the details, just who they are. You can fill me in on the rest as we travel."

"Okay," Lex shrugged. "Well, there's Jay, he's with Amber now, and Ram: they used to be Technos. Then there's Ruby and Slade, Lottie, Gel and Sammy, and lastly Darryl and Ben up there in your outpost."

Luke nodded. "About twenty of you then," he said. "As I thought."

"Nineteen to be exact," said Lex, getting to his feet. "Come on. I thought you said we had to leave early."

"Indeed."

XXXX

Jack sat with his back to a tree, staring out over the pool before him and pulling a stem of grass to pieces. Behind him, the campsite lay sleeping, its new inhabitants worn out by the previous day's bustle. He had slept too, but only for a few hours. His conversation with Ellie had played over and over in his mind, keeping him awake until late into the night, and then he had woken before dawn with the same tumultuous thoughts running round in his head.

Unable to get back to sleep, and not wanting to wake the rest of the cabin, he had dressed quietly and made his way down to the river, walking along the bank until a sudden rise in the land had blocked his path. Now he sat, listening to the water tumbling over the edge of the rocky cliff to his left and staring at the wide, deep pool the force of that water had created.

He hadn't asked for this. Hadn't looked for it, expected it or predicted it. Perhaps he should have: everyone else had come up against it at some point. He loved Ellie. He had always loved Ellie. Even when he had stood there and watched her kissing Luke. Even when he had packed his bags and walked away. Always. From the first moment he met her, as constant as the force of gravity, he had loved her. She had changed him and changed his life. Before he met her, science had been the only focal point of his life, even to the extent of shutting out his friends and the other tribe members around him. He still remembered the blazing row he had had with Dal on the balcony of the mall after Trudy had tried to kill herself, although for some reason he couldn't quite remember he also associated it with Lex and carrots. He remembered complaining, at length and repeatedly, of the stupidity of girls fighting over boys; yet he also remembered nearly losing his best friend fighting with him over Ellie, not to mention several ridiculously childish romantic gestures once the fight had been won. They hadn't seemed silly at the time. Now he wondered how he could have spent so much time and effort rigging screen savers when there was so much else going on around them. He might be a genius, which he most certainly was, but he was just as guilty of being a fool in love as anyone else.

Now what was he? Just a fool? He loved Ellie. He was clear on that point. She meant too much to him, and had been to great a part of his life, to be afforded anything else. But was he _in love_ with her? Could you be in love with someone you didn't trust anymore? Not just someone you didn't trust to be faithful, but someone you didn't trust to be honest at all? About anything?

He couldn't leave Ellie. Not now. True, she had May and Salene wrapped round her little finger... Well, maybe not Salene: if it hadn't been for her, Ellie might never have told him the truth about the baby. But still, he couldn't leave her. She needed him too much. At least for the moment.

But he couldn't pretend, either. He had told her that, made that clear. He wasn't sure how he felt about her anymore. Not entirely. Or if they could be together in the same way, or even at all. He would support her, stand by her, look after her: everything he could do, he would. That was only right. But he wouldn't, couldn't, pretend to be in love with her if he wasn't.

Maybe it was just a rough patch - all relationships had them apparently - and they would get through it. Maybe, if they worked at it, and were honest with each other, completely honest, he could forgive her and learn to trust her again. If he could trust her again, maybe then he could fall in love with her again. Maybe.

Maybe not.

Maybe it would always be there, gnawing away at them. The doubt. The worry. The mistrust. Maybe she didn't need him. She still didn't know that he'd seen Luke on the island. He hadn't even considered telling her: there were too many other things to think about and he wasn't a hundred percent sure anyway. He would have to mention it at some point, though. At least the fact that he knew there were others on the island, and that the one he'd seen had blue hair. It was hardly a conclusive fact, but it was still fairly likely that the rest of the tribe would follow his reasoning. There would be a group meal tonight, around the large campfire at the top of the campsite. That would give him the right forum to break the news in. To tell Ellie on her own, or apart from the group, might make her think or feel that he was pushing her away, towards Luke. If he simply passed the information on to the whole tribe, like any other piece of news, then she would be more able to make her own mind up, without any assumed burden of pressure from him.

A day was a long time though. It was still morning and, if he didn't get back soon, somebody was bound to come looking for him. There was still plenty of work to be done fixing up the other cabins. It was all very well for them to share a few and let the rest fester, but sooner or later, after the cramped conditions of the boat and the caves, they would all want their own space. He would want his own space. He had felt unable to share a bed with Ellie last night, so he had slept on the sofa: a hard, lumpy contraption made of pine and cheap, moth-eaten cushions. He could have asked May to move into the twin room with Sal for the night, but he got the feeling that might have been poorly received all round.

With a groan at the complaints of his tired, aching limbs, Jack pushed himself to his feet and headed back up the hill towards the campsite. There was only one thing worse than having somebody come and fetch him like some errant schoolboy, and that was having them find him in the one place around here he had found to be alone in. Nobody went near the waterfall yet. It was too dangerous for the kids to play at and too far to sensibly collect water from. Right now, nobody had time for anything else. Nobody, it seemed, except him.

XXXX

From the cover of the waterfall, Ebony watched Jack go and breathed a sigh of relief. She waited until he was well out of sight before swimming over to the hollow in the bank, beneath an overhanging rock, where she had hidden her clothes. The water wasn't just cold, it was freezing. What had meant to be a refreshing morning dip, in a quiet spot that nobody ever visited and before anyone was awake, had turned into a half hour soak in freezing water, hidden behind the curtain of a waterfall from the one person on earth she couldn't brazen it out with!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Amber was tired. She had slept last night, at least for some of it, but woken early and been unable to get back to sleep again. Instead, she had lifted the tin basin in which her son slept soundly and carried it and its precious cargo out to the living area. The seating in the living areas varied from cabin to cabin. In the larger two chalets, it seemed to be a complex, though slightly more comfortable, mixture of wicker weaving and wooden poles, made softer with one large cushion on the seat itself and another tied in place against the backrest. The cushions for the arms on the seats were sewn down. On the sofa, they were larger and loose. Amber had sat down on the sofa and placed her son's makeshift bassinet on the low, oval coffee table in front of her. It was about ten minutes later, after having restlessly paced around the room, dusting anything in sight, that she spotted Jack leaving his cabin and making his way down the hill towards Ebony's.

Ram's words immediately flooded back to Amber's mind. She shook her head, banishing the sickly smooth voice and its insinuations. She stood by the point she had made, that Ebony was sufficiently similar to Ellie to be described as Jack's "type", but that didn't mean she accepted Ram's argument about Ebony, or his prediction that something would happen between the two in the caves. Even if Ram was right and there was something there, and that their time alone together had acted as the "catalyst" he had mentioned, Jack wouldn't cheat on Ellie! Not Jack! Not on Ellie! Especially not when she was carrying his child!

Picking up the basin, Amber carried Bray back through to the room she shared with Jay and placed it back on the dressing table where it had been before. Grabbing her coat, she hurried out of the house and followed Jack down the hill, keeping out of sight. She felt herself give a sigh of relief as Jack walked straight past Ebony's cabin and carried on to the river. A few moments later and it was clear to Amber where Jack was going. He had made a bee line for the river, then wandered almost aimlessly along it, coming to a halt when the waterfall blocked his path and sitting there in silence as the sun rose through the sky.

Seeing him to be deep in thought, Amber held back. Just as she was about to go over to him, he got to his feet. Amber ducked back as Jack turned and made his way back up the hill towards the campsite. She sighed inwardly and cursed herself for being taken in by Ram's nonsense. Of course there was nothing going on between Jack and Ebony. How could she have thought for a moment that he would betray Ellie like that?

A movement brought Amber's attention back to the pool by the waterfall. She turned, peering out from behind her tree just in time to see Ebony swimming over to the bank and pulling a bundle of clothes out from somewhere. Choosing to give Ebony the privacy to get dressed, Amber turned to face the campsite and leant back against the tree that hid her. She could clearly hear Ebony getting out of the water and dressing. When she was sure the younger woman was dressed and on her way back up the hill towards her, Amber stepped out of her hiding place and turned to face Ebony.

"Morning bath?" Amber asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You've seen the state of the one in my cabin!" Ebony retorted, not missing a step.

"Has Jack?" Amber smiled sweetly as Ebony drew level with her. That stopped her in her tracks.

"How was I to know he'd turn up?" Ebony shrugged, holding her ground. "I'm not a mind reader."

"And you didn't feel the need to inform him of your presence, I take it," said Amber, her eyebrows rising. "I know he was distracted, but I didn't think he was that blind!"

"I hid!"

"Really?" Amber tipped her head to one side. "And why was that exactly? Jack was sitting there for ages. Are you really telling me that you would rather hide for half an hour than tell him to get lost?"

"I was embarrassed!" Ebony snapped. "In case you hadn't noticed, I didn't spend too much time hunting for my bathing suit while we were making a mad dash for the boat!"

Amber opened her mouth to reply, then closed it again, an amused grin forming.

"What?" Ebony snapped.

"You were embarrassed?" Amber's eyebrows slid further up her forehead. "Ebony, you don't get embarrassed! Jack gets embarrassed! And there are a dozen different ways you could have got him to leave without him seeing you! Unless of course..."

"Unless what, Amber?" Ebony growled.

"Let's head back to your cabin," said Amber, trying, and failing, to stop a puzzled grin taking over her features. "I'll make us some tea and you can tell me all about those five days you spent on your own with Jack."

Ebony glared at the taller woman. "Why?" she asked.

"Just a hunch," said Amber, smiling. "You didn't get into any sticky spots did you? Something Jack had to give you a hand with? Rescue you from, perhaps?"

The intake of breath was enough to tell Amber she had struck a nerve. Ram had been right then, on two counts at least: something had happened when they were alone together and Ebony was definitely feeling something for Jack. The only part of Ram's prediction Amber wasn't sure of was whether or not the something had happened in the caves, and whether it had been as Ram had described.

XXXX

"Do you think she knows?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Trudy," Jay ran a hand through his hair and turned away from his mistress. "How could she! We've been more than careful!"

"That little thief knows something, I'm sure," said Trudy, peering round the door to where Brady was playing happily with some toys. "She's been funny with me ever since that day at the beach."

"Lottie won't say anything," Jay turned back to Trudy and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You worry too much. Even if Lottie did see something, and I'm still not convinced that she did, she wouldn't say anything to Amber. Or to anyone else for that matter: who'd believe her!"

"Sammy was with her," Trudy shrugged.

"Nobody ever listens to Sammy!" Jay scoffed. "Like I said: you worry too much. She's probably just gone off to get some water. She left Bray, didn't she?"

"She did," Trudy conceded, stepping closer to Jay and resting her head on his chest. "I just wish we could be honest with her. I feel so guilty sneaking around behind her back like this!"

"We couldn't help it," Jay dipped his head and kissed Trudy's hair. "We fell in love. Amber will understand that."

"She might, but I'm not so sure she'll understand why we haven't told her yet."

"It's just bad timing," said Jay, wrapping his arms around Trudy. "First the boat journey, then the caves, now setting things up here. Once we've got everything settled, we'll tell her."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Jay nodded. "We'll fix up the cabin next door. Jack's already finished the steps. When it's ready, you can move in there. Then, when we tell her, if she doesn't want to see us for a while, she has space."

"She's my best friend, Jay."

"I know," Jay sighed. "I care about Amber too. I just care about you more, Trudy. And I can't hide that any more. Not from you."

XXXX

Ram had a plan. He had spent some time yesterday walking round the campsite. The river was their source of fresh water, and that was fine, but the part of the river they used was actually quite far away. The rocky, uneven landscape meant that the banks on either side of the clear mountain stream rose and fell at various intervals. At the southern end of the campsite, where most of the tribe now lived, the land rose into steep cliffs on either side of the river, part of the hill the campsite was built on. Where the hill declined, as one moved north through the campsite, so the river banks grew lower. In actuality, there was only a small area, far to the north of the largest chalets, that could be used for gathering water.

If, on the other hand, they had some sort of water escalator they could use, then gathering water from the higher banks wouldn't be a problem. Some sort of rudimentary pulley system should do the trick. They still had the rope they had used to tie each other together in the caves, but that had been cut into two and might not be long enough for the highest cliffs anyway. What they really needed was the ability to make new rope: and that was where the plan came in.

He could easily design the pulley himself, based on some ancient Roman designs he had seen once, but he could use a knowledgeable pair of hands when building it. As for the rope, well, any fibrous plant material should do the trick. If you had somebody who knew about plants, though: they could point you in the right direction. A Gaian should know about plants surely? And surely someone who once led the Gaians should know the most and be most accomplished at making the most of what nature provides. The only other thing he needed was someone to help that person while he and his helper were getting on with the inventing. Now who was there in the tribe that might jump at the chance to spend some time out of the campsite in the company of the people he had in mind?

Ram tapped a thoughtful finger against his lips and smiled. Yes, he thought, that would do very nicely.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Why Jack," called Ram from his cabin door, "how very fortuitous to see you."

"I only live across the road now, Ram," sighed Jack, turning to face the older man. "It's not like I'm a million miles away!"

Ram closed his door and walked down the cabin steps. He had a oily grin plastered across his face that told Jack he was after something.

"What is it, Ram? Ellie'll be wondering where I am by now."

"Well, she only has to look out of the window to find you now, hasn't she," smiled Ram. "And I'm guessing that talking to me is a better option than explaining where you've just been?"

Jack blinked, his brow crinkling in confusion. "And where have I just been?"

"Well judging by the direction you've just come from, and the particularly early hour of the morning..." Ram let the sentence go unfinished and shrugged.

Jack looked past Ram, back the way he had just travelled. The tumbling down form of cabin 10, one of the smaller cabins, wasn't quite enough to hide cabin 14 from view. Jack's face dropped. Cabin 14 was Ebony's cabin and, just as Jack had decided how to explain his perfectly innocent route past Ebony's door, there were Ebony and Amber walking up from the river, following exactly the same path Jack had taken back from the waterfall.

"I-I-I... B-But...!" Jack sputtered.

"Relax, Jack," said Ram smoothly, putting an arm conspiratorially around Jack's shoulders. "Besides, I was wanting to pick your brains about something anyway."

"What?" Jack sighed, letting Ram turn him round and walk him further up the hill towards his own cabin.

"Just a little project I had in mind," said Ram. "Something to make the water carrying duties a little... easier."

Jack stopped and looked askance at Ram, then looked over to the top of the river cliffs just visible through the trees beyond the chalet inhabited by Amber, Jay, Trudy and the babies. The river bank rose steadily from the bottom of the hill upwards until, as it drew level with the top of the campsite, it formed substantial cliffs on either side of the mountain stream. The walk to the bottom of the hill, where land and water met at a reasonable angle, was not a long one, but dragging two full buckets of water up the slope again was a tiring and time-consuming task.

"What did you have in mind?"

XXXX

"Ugh, nettle tea," Ebony pulled a face. "My favourite!"

"Get used to it!" Amber grinned. "Until we do a proper recce of this place, that's all we've got. Well," she shrugged, "that or hot water!"

"My other favourite!" Ebony sighed.

Amber pulled her legs up and curled them under her. The chairs in Ebony's cabin were pine wood frames and slats, with thin cushions: even less comfortable than Amber's. She sipped the hot, slightly metallic brew and raised an eyebrow in Ebony's direction. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Ebony looked down at her tea, her tone feigning nonchalance.

"Something has changed between you and Jack," Amber persisted. "Don't even try to deny it: it's blindingly obvious!"

"There's nothing going on between us," said Ebony sternly, fixing her eyes on Amber. "He's with Ellie."

"I never said there was!" Amber countered. "I just said something has changed. Something in the way you act around one another. It's there in both of you, but you especially!"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"I'm not, and you know it!" Amber laughed. "My word, you really do know it, don't you? You're smitten!"

"I am not! Come on, Amber: you know geeks aren't my type!"

"No, knights in shining armour are your type, Ebony!" Amber laughed. "What'd he do? Drag you out of the underground river?"

Ebony raised an eyebrow in silent riposte. She tried to keep her poker face straight, but Amber's obvious amusement and the fact that she wasn't going to be put off by denials tweaked at the corners of her mouth. The idea of Jack on a white charger, riding to her rescue was more than a little silly, especially when her mind was convinced he wouldn't know which end of a lance was up!

"This has to stay between us," she said, finally relenting.

Amber nodded and sobered.

"Okay," Ebony resettled her weight on the end of the hard sofa. "So let's say I did get manage to get myself a little... stuck, back in the tunnels. It was just before we got out. We could see the sunlight on the outside, even. I took a false step and slipped. I got myself wedged in a crevice and Jack got me out."

"Right," Amber said slowly. "I don't see why that should be a big secret though?"

"I guess," Ebony shrugged. "I guess I'd never realised how strong he was. I seem to have... acquired... I don't know, a crush, I suppose."

"That might explain you," said Amber, looking sidelong at Ebony, "but it doesn't account for Jack. And believe me: there's something to account for! I know him, I can tell! What aren't you telling me, Ebony?"

Ebony looked down, staring at her tea as if willing it to provide a suitable, less incriminating answer. What could she say? She'd already given the version of events she'd prepared in case anyone else had asked any awkward questions.

"We said we never talk about it," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "As far as we were concerned, it never happened."

"That's a little bit melodramatic, don't you think?" Amber laughed, bemused. "What did you do? Sleep with the guy?" Amber's face changed at Ebony's sudden reaction. "Oh my God, you did! Ebony!"

"What! No! I didn't! We didn't!" Ebony's voice rose in pitch and volume. "It's a long story if you want the explanation, Amber, but we just kissed, that's all. Just a kiss!"

"JUST a kiss?" Amber's eyebrows now seemed fixed to the top of her forehead.

"Okay, maybe two kisses," Ebony admitted.

"TWO! You kissed him TWICE!"

"No! I only kissed him once! The first time he kissed me!"

"WHAT!" Amber realised her jaw was hanging open and closed it. She sat back in the chair and stared at the opposite wall in shock.

"He did have good reason," said Ebony, her voice returning to normal. "He... I... We dislocated my shoulder getting out of the crevice. He needed to distract me so he could fix it."

"I guess we can assume it worked!" Amber quipped, still staring at the wall.

"Let me just say I now know why Ellie's so keen to hang on to him!"

"Ebony!"

"What? You asked!"

"And the second kiss?

"He caught me off guard: I wanted to get my own back!"

"Oh and I can see how much good that did you! Both of you!"

"What?" Ebony shrugged. "It was a heat of the moment thing!"

"Dear Lord, it's like talking to Tai San back when she had that cat fight with Zandra over Lex!" Amber looked up at the ceiling. "The world has gone mad and I'm the only sane person left! Help!"

XXXX

"What on earth is that meant to be?" Ruby smiled down at the random assortment of leaves, feathers, flowers and stones tangled together on the table.

"We're trying to make some wind chimes," Lottie explained. "Every chain had a stone on the end and when the wind blows, they'll hit together and make a sound."

"I'm afraid those might just fall down, Lottie," said Ruby, lifting the fine thread joining the brightly coloured items. "Where did you get the thread?"

Both Sammy and Lottie seemed suddenly quiet, each concentrating on their own piece of work.

"Kids," Ruby warned. "Speak up now. Where did you get it?"

"We borrowed it?" Sammy ventured.

"From where?" Ruby continued. "Or should I say from whom?"

"She wasn't using it!" Lottie wailed.

"Well, that answers the whom, now tell me the where."

"It was in her sewing kit," Lottie sighed. "It's not like it's a colour she's likely to use!"

"Lottie, it's powder blue and for making fine lace! This stuff was rare enough before the virus, never mind now!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Are we nearly there yet?"

"Put a sock in it, Darryl!" Lex called over his shoulder. "It's not even time for lunch!"

The sun was high in the sky, nearing its zenith. The heat of the day was already bearing down on the small group of men and making every step seem twice the effort. Luke, in his loose brown trousers and mottled blue and green shirt, appeared to be perfectly comfortable, striding along with his pack on his back and a staff in his hand. Lex, in his black, close fitting clothes, complete with sleeveless jacket, was considerably less so.

"You've changed a bit since we last met," said Lex, indicating Luke's muted wardrobe with a nod of his head.

"We've all changed," Luke replied with a shrug. "Change is the only constant in this world."

"You know, I swear you get more like Tai San ever time you open your gob!"

Luke laughed, it was a short, amused laugh. "I speak from the heart, Lex," he said. "It's all I can ever do."

"Yeah? So how about you tell me a bit more about this new tribe of yours? From the heart, of course!"

"You know I can't tell you much. I have my orders and I follow them," Luke shrugged again. "I can tell you, however, that we are well supplied and well guarded. We hunt the forests for food, and forage and grow some crops. We make what we need to make. Nothing is wasted. Everyone uses their individual skills for the good of the tribe."

"Oh yeah? And what's your skill then," Lex raised an eyebrow. "Apart from following orders," he added.

"I am our tribe's spiritual guide. I take my share of the general tribe duties: guarding, maintaining the watches at the outposts, foraging, tending crops. All standard manual things that require little skill. I am not in charge of any of them, of course: that is left to our skilled workers."

"And what do they do?"

"We have everything we need," Luke spread his hands out in front of him. "This is our land of milk and honey. We have people who can hunt, track, cultivate the land, look after animals, fight, weave, spin, cook, build, administer herbal medicine, produce dyes from various plants: everything we need."

"And you think we can have the same?"

"With your own space, and perhaps one or two of our people to teach you and guide you through the particular plants and herbs of the area," Luke nodded. "Yes, I see no reason why not. We have no issue with you or your tribe, Lex. Our only constriction is the space available in our village. I will help you settle into your new home and, when our leader is ready, you shall receive a visit. Our leader is keen to find out more about your tribe and its members."

"You're leader sounds very high and mighty!" Lex scoffed.

"Our leader led us out of the cages of the Technos. High and mighty doesn't quite cover it!"

The two men walked on in genial silence for a while, Luke always looking forward, watching his path closely, and Lex glancing back over his shoulder to check on Ben and Darryl.

"Perhaps," said Luke suddenly, bringing Lex's attention back round from such a glance, "now might be a good time to tell me about these new members to your tribe. We have another hour or so to travel before we will stop to eat. The time will pass quicker for the distraction. I believe the first person you mentioned was Jay? Let's begin with his story."

Lex opened his mouth to say something then thought better of it. With a shrug, he took a swig from his water bottle and began.

XXXX

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Jack asked Ram, wiping his brow on the back of his hand. "I'm not convinced we've got enough support there for the weight of the beams, let alone one or two people and a bucket or two of water!"

"We don't exactly have much option, Jack," said Ram. "The beams themselves aren't long enough to stretch right across the chasm and that little ledge there is perfect for bracers."

"Yeah, maybe, but still don't think it'll hold past that," Jack scratched some arrows into the sketch the two inventors had drawn in the ground with a stick. "I mean if we want to get out past the outcrop, we're gonna have to build the platform out at least this far. Then you want to add the weight of a pulley system here," Jack scratched in the earth again with his stick, "and whoever is operating it will be here. Add to that the weight of the water they're pulling up and the weight of somebody helping them and waiting with another bucket, maybe that's already been filled, and you've got way too much downward force way too far out. The whole thing'll just tip outward and down into the ravine. We need to counter it somehow."

"I'm open to suggestions," Ram shrugged, his palms spread upward.

"Well, what I was thinking, just for starters, you understand," Jack moved over and started scratching yet another drawing in the dirt. "If we build the platform like we planned originally, but further out. Then we drill a hole in either side and fix guy lines to the trees nearby. It would be like a suspension bridge. We could test out the weight bearing and add more support all along the sides if we need it. In fact you might want to add it anyway, just to be safe. And we could slim down the pulley mechanism just by turning it round and making it just like an old well windlass, but with the rope stretching back to the bank and going round the turning handle there."

"It certainly sounds good," Ram nodded sagely, "but it'll need an awful lot of rope, Jack. You'd better hope Amber and her little helper have managed to find some suitable plants to make it from because there's no way we've got that much just from the boat supplies."

"Who've you got helping her? Lottie?" Jack stood up and brushed the dust off his trousers.

"I asked Amber to pick someone, Jack," Ram shrugged. "I figured she'd be the best person to judge who she needed."

XXXX

"Have you ever actually done this before, Amber?" Ebony called, her arms full of long grass stems.

"Not as such, no," Amber called back, similarly burdened. "But it should work in theory and if we don't at least try it, we'll never find out."

"I thought you did all this sort of stuff with those eco-warriors of yours?"

"Not exactly. With the Gaians, everyone had their own little areas of speciality. I was their leader. Pride taught me to hunt and forage. He taught me about what types of plants you could eat and what to avoid, and a little bit about what ones had medicinal properties, but that was all. Most of the camp had already been built by the time I got there and I was always too busy with other stuff to help with repairs."

"So what's your plan?"

"I think we need to try and break up the fibres, so that they're easier to work with, then twist or braid them together. Then we twist those strands together and so on until the rope is thick enough."

"Braiding I can do," Ebony shrugged, "but honey, you are not going to get any reasonable length of fibres from this stuff: it's way too dry. It's just going to break if we try and do anything with it the way it is right now."

Amber chewed her lip in thought for a moment. "Too dry, huh?" she said. "I bet standing it in a bucket of water for a few hours would sort that problem. What do you think?"

Ebony shrugged. "Worth a try I guess."

"Let's go see what the guys think," said Amber, turning back in the direction of the campsite. "We can't really carry much more than this at once anyway."

"Guys?" Ebony echoed. "I thought you said Ram asked you to do this?"

"He did," Amber shrugged. "He also asked Jack to help him put the thing together and iron out the details. Not in that order, I hope, although knowing Jack..." Amber looked round and caught Ebony's glare. "Oh, come on, Ebony: you're not a teenager any more!"

"It's not me that's acting irrational every time I go anywhere near Jack!"

"Ellie won't be there: they're working out at the river bank at the top of the hill. You can hardly even see it from the campsite because of the trees!"

With a sigh, Ebony walked forward to join Amber. "Fine," she said. "But if princess does decide to get her claws out, just know: I'm blaming you"

"She wouldn't dare!" Amber laughed. "Besides, Ellie has no claws: she spent most of the time you guys were away chewing her nails and staring at nothing."

Ebony gave a half smile and laughed nervously. "Bitten nails can be quite sharp though, right? I mean, breaking them makes them rough, doesn't it?"

Amber blinked and looked round at Ebony. "Where did that come from?" she asked. "Anyway, you don't need to worry: when you two turned up and she knew she'd be seeing Jack again soon, she got Gel to file them down for her. They're perfectly smooth. If she wants to try and claw your eyes out, she'll have to use something other than her fingernails!"

Ebony gave another nervous laugh. "It's not me I'm worried about!"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

By the time Ebony and Amber got back to the campsite and turned off to head through the trees to the site of Ram's latest project, the sun was past its highest point and the heat of the day was rising to a peak. It was Amber who first spotted the two young men, shirts off in the heat and arguing over a large wooden beam from one of the more dilapidated cabins. They were leaning over the beam, Ram crouched down on one side and Jack kneeling on the other, his back to the new arrivals.

"What? Haven't you got that finished yet, oh mighty geniuses?" Amber called as the two young women approached.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack called back without looking up. "In a little while."

"Where have I heard that before?" Ebony laughed.

Startled, Jack looked round at Ebony, then back at Ram. With a shrug, Ram left the silent question unanswered and rose to his feet.

"In point of fact, Amber," he said, "when referring to two or more individuals, the term is genii, as per usual Latin grammar. It's only when you are referring to a collection of specific talents that the term geniuses should be used."

"I should have known you'd know the difference," Amber quipped dryly.

"It is one of my geniuses," smiled Ram.

"I don't suppose plant biology is another of them?" Ebony asked, her eyes flicking between Jack, who was scrutinising the wooden beam in far more detail than was necessary, and Ram.

"Anything for a lady," Ram's oily grin widened. "How may I be of assistance?"

"We can't make twine out of these grasses as they are," Amber explained. "They're too dry. We were thinking of soaking them to soften them, but I'm a little worried it might just make them rot. What do you think?"

Ram shrugged. He looked down at Jack. "What do you think, Jack? You've more experience with these hands on things than I have."

"Umm... Y-yeah, sure," said Jack, frowning and keeping his eyes on the beam, "I don't see why not. I-I mean, you don't want to leave them there all day, or then they will rot, but an hour or so might do the trick. It's just trial and error, I guess."

"You know, you can turn round and face us, Jack," said Amber. "Ellie isn't here to have a go at you, or Ebony. Oh, and Jack," she added, frowning at the five fading parallel lines stretching down from his left shoulder blade, "you might want to put a shirt on before you see Ellie again."

"What?" Jack's voice dropped to a low whisper.

"Just take my word for it," Amber replied, reaching a hand out to the guilty party. "Come on, Ebony: I want a word with you."

Jack listened to the sounds of the two women hurrying away. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Amber knew something. Exactly what she knew, on the other hand was another matter. Either way, if her tone was anything to go by, what she didn't know, she was about to find out.

"Ram," he said, not moving his eyes from the timber. "What's on my back?"

The older man stepped over the beam and looked down. The short, sharp laugh of stifled amusement made Jack's spirits drop even further.

"Well now," Ram chortled. "Ebony certainly left her mark on you, didn't she!"

XXXX

"And you never found any trace of Tai San?" Luke asked, looking over to Lex and frowning.

"Not a bit," Lex shook his head sadly. "Sometimes I think I just dreamed her up, like Ebony did with Zoot."

"From what you tell me of this Mega, it would not surprise me if he had programmed her image into his computers. He seems a very resourceful, and cunning, young man. In a good man, those are very useful attributes. When one's path runs astray, however..." Luke shrugged.

"All hell breaks loose. Yeah, I get the picture," Lex finished. "It still doesn't tell me what happened to her, though."

"If it is your destiny to know," Luke sighed, "then you shall know."

"I hate to break it to ya, mate, but I could have worked that one out for myself!"

"I apologise," Luke smiled. "I forget sometimes that you were married." Luke glanced round at the two men bringing up the rear of the party. "Gentlemen," he called back. "We shall rest here for a while and eat. We have travelled about half the distance, now. If we spend half an hour here to revive ourselves and our spirits, then carry on as before, we should reach your friends with plenty light to spare."

Ben and Darryl flopped down on the hillside, Darryl immediately lying flat and groaning loudly. "Forget my spirits, somebody revive my legs!"

"Ah, shut up!" Lex dropped to sit by the complaining Darryl. "The exercise'll do you good, ya big baby!"

"I'm gonna die!" Darryl wailed, throwing a hand against his brow in mock drama. "Friends, Romans, countrymen! Lend me your ears!"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Lex's face showed a bizarre mix of confusion and amusement.

"I hardly think Marc Antony's speech at Caesar's funeral is the right bit of Shakespeare to pick, Darryl," Luke laughed. "He was just about the only character who survived!"

"Well, I can't remember any other bits!" Darryl moaned. "Anyway, we only did Julius Caesar at school before the virus hit, and that was just in the drama club!"

"Dear master, I can go no farther," Ben murmured, almost to himself. "O, I die for food! Here lie I down, and measure out my grave. Farewell, kind master."

In the face of stunned silence, Ben looked up to see the other three men staring at him.

"As You Like It, old Adam, Orlando's servant," he explained. The silence remained. "What? A trader can't know Shakespeare?"

XXXX

"He hates me, Salene," Ellie groaned, watching the red-haired woman concentrate on threading a needle.

"Don't be silly, Ellie," Salene sighed, without taking her eye off the thread. "Jack doesn't know the meaning of the word. He's busy with Ram. You heard them both."

"He's finding reasons to stay away from me."

Salene put down the needle and thread and fixed Ellie with a firm look. "He'll come round, Ellie: he always does. In the meantime, maybe it's a good thing if he has a bit more space: it'll give him time to get his head around it."

"Give him time to spend with Ebony, more like!"

"So what if he does?" Salene sighed. She was getting bored of Ellie's obsession with Ebony. "As far as I can see, he has every right to! You heard him last night: he needs to learn to trust you again. I'm guessing he slept on the floor or the sofa last night. I think that makes his feelings at the moment pretty clear, don't you?"

"The sofa, I think," Ellie shrugged. "I keep waiting for him to come and get his stuff and move out!"

"Whether he stays here or moves out, he will forgive you in time, Ellie."

"I lied to him. I used him. How could I possibly expect him to forgive me?"

"It's Jack," said Salene patiently. "When it comes to forgiving you, Ellie, he's had plenty of practise!"

"Is that meant to make me feel better?"

"I'm running out of sympathy, Ellie: you should have been straight with him from the start and you know it. Now instead of sitting there and wallowing in self-pity, perhaps you could go and help May with her scavenging and leave me in peace to fix these curtains!"

XXXX

Walking down a reasonably steep hill with a baby on your back, a sheaf of grass in one arm and Ebony on the end of the other arm was no mean feat, Amber thought as they reached the water's edge. They had stopped off and picked up a bucket on the way, which Ebony was currently carrying her sheaf of grass in, but Amber had kept a tight hold on her all the way. There were questions to be answered and a ridiculously smug smirk on Ebony's face.

Admittedly, Amber had had difficulty keeping her face straight too. She felt like giggling like a silly girl. She hadn't felt this free, this young, since Sasha had spirited her away from the mall for a day. Perhaps it was just the fact that she could stand back and let Jay get on with leading the tribe. Perhaps it was the fact that there seemed to be absolutely no threats here to worry her. Or, perhaps, it was simple opportunity to share a secret with someone she hadn't really considered a friend before now.

Of course, she had considered Ebony a lot of things before, and they had, consequentially, been through a lot together, but the idea that they could be friends had never really struck her as plausible. They were so different in so many ways, and yet it now seemed that they had so much in common. They had talked before, on so many occasions, but never about anything so trivial as clothes, make-up or men. At least, not men they weren't fighting over! Now, it seemed, Ebony needed someone to talk to and nobody else was offering. Just as she had turned to Amber when she had realised what her sisters were doing, so she had opened up to her now, albeit after having been caught behaving oddly and having her secret dragged out of her. It now appeared that there was a bit more detail to be dragged out of her and, since it concerned one of Amber's oldest and most trusted friends, dragging that information out of her was exactly what she intended to do!

Letting go of Ebony's arm to let the younger woman fill the bucket, Amber ran a hand over her Zulu knots and considered her approach. As Ebony took the bundle of grass from her and added it to the bundle already in the bucket of water, Amber decided the direct approach was probably best: less opportunity to prevaricate.

"Right: we're on our own now," she said, seating herself on a large rock and pulling Ebony down beside her. "Jack has five very obviously fingernail scratches down his back. There is no way he got them from Ellie because she doesn't have nails that could leave marks like that and anyway, they looked almost a week old. We both know that leaves us only one other option. Start talking."

"They weren't that bad!" Ebony shrugged, watching the bucket.

"You drew blood!"

"They could have been worse."

"I believe you," said Amber, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just not sure I believe him!"

"How do you work that out: it was my nails!"

"Which apparently he never even noticed. I mean really: how do you not notice that!"

"Well we were a bit busy, Amber. To be honest, even I didn't realise I'd done that."

"But you said it was just a kiss!"

"Two kisses," Ebony corrected with a smirk. "Two really, really good kisses."

"But that was definitely all?"

"Definitely! Honest!"

"Then why are the pair of you going through this whole not looking directly at each other when the other might be looking thing?" Amber waved a hand in gesture. "I mean it's all a bit... I don't know. High school drama?"

"I can't read minds, Amber. It's him that refuses to look at me, not the other way round. I'm just keeping out of his way when Ellie's around. That's not childish: that's just good sense! She's nuts!"

"Really: you're still telling me you'd have reacted exactly the same way at the waterfall even if the two of you hadn't had your 'moment' in the caves?"

"Maybe, I don't know!" Ebony shrugged. "It's not like I make a habit of skinny dipping!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

By the time the sun started to dip below the shoulder of the hills, Ebony and Amber, with a bit of help from an errant Lottie and Sammy, who were hiding from Gel, had produced some six or seven metres of narrow rope. After soaking, they had rolled the grass stems to separate the fibres, then braided the fibres, a few strands in each bundle to start with and more added as the braid progressed to keep it going. With the first, fine braids done, at least as far as the clearing they were working in allowed, they had put a few strings aside and braided the rest into a solid, if thin, rope. The rope was flexible enough to be coiled and tied, but strong enough to lift a bucket full of water. Exactly how much more weight the rope could hold, neither Amber nor Ebony cared to hazard a guess.

"Come on, let's take this up to the boys," said Amber, handing the coil to Ebony and turning to the kids. "I want you two up bright and early tomorrow to help make more, you hear me? There's plenty of chores you two can be doing to keep you out of mischief, and we'll need all the help we can get with this stuff."

"Yes, Amber," Lottie and Sammy nodded, taking the one strand of string they had been allowed to use to remake their wind chimes.

Ebony hoisted the rope onto her shoulder and followed Amber up the hill. The nails that had caused such an abrupt departure from the building site earlier were now chipped and cracked from spending the rest of the day working with wet grass. She had even broken one: a rare occurrence.

The route the girls had taken on the way down the hill was the shortest, cutting through the trees between the cabins and the river. They retraced their steps, following the line of the bank, until the nascent platform began to show through the trees.

"It looks like they've made some progress, anyway," sighed Amber, running a hand over her son's head. "I wonder what they'll think of our efforts?"

"Oh, they'll be expecting tons of this stuff, no doubt," Ebony replied, shifting the weight of the rope. The only things that take time in their world are the ones they're working on themselves!"

"That's not just Ram and Jack: that's men in general, I think!" Amber laughed.

The two girls made their way over to the workers, depositing the coil of rope and two smaller coils of string at Ram's feet. The ex-techno looked down and grinned.

"Ah, you come bearing gifts, how lovely," he said, bending down and lifting the braided rope. "This should do nicely. We'll need a lot more though, and some will have to be considerably longer!"

"We've roped in Lottie and Sammy," said Amber with a smile. "So to speak, anyway. We're quite tight for space down there though, so we'll have to move production up hill a bit."

"There's a clear space in front of Ebony's cabin, is there not?" Ram asked rhetorically. "You could use that. A rope stretching from... I'd say from Ebony's steps to the corner of cabin twelve opposite. That would be what we need for the bucket rope. Then we have twenty planks of wood across the beams. Now the first five of those we're going to secure into the ground itself with stakes. The other fifteen, though, will need two ropes each, one for each side."

"Ram, that's a lot of rope!" Amber cried, aghast. "It'll take us days!"

"We don't need rope on every plank, Ram!" Jack cut in from where he was using the boat's hand drill to put a hole through the angled end of a piece of wood. "Every other one should be enough!"

"Okay, that would be..." Ram paused, counting in his head. "I make that sixteen pieces of rope. The furthest out is approximately eleven metres from the nearest tree and we'll tie it around about two metres up. Eleven squared is a hundred and twenty one, plus two squared, which is four, is a hundred and twenty five. The square root of a hundred and twenty five is..." Ram's face showed concentration once more, "eleven point one eight and a bit. Add a couple of metres for tying it up at each end and let's call it fifteen metres? That's about as long as your chalet, Amber. We'll need two at that length and each pair can decrease by about a metre after that. Plus the long one for the bucket of course, and there's the one you've already finished."

"Never mind days, that'll take us weeks!" Ebony groaned.

"Well, you know what they say," shrugged Ram. "Many hands make light work."

"How about instead of saying it, you get over here and give me a hand?" Jack called. "We have a brace and a beam to join up and there's no way I'm sticking my neck out there without somebody watching my back!"

Amber looked over to the high river bank. The "brace and beam" Jack was talking about was the second of the two main supports of the planned platform. Each support was constructed entirely from the thick, solid wood of the roof beams taken from one of the more run down cabins. The brace was already bolted into the burgeoning rock wall at an angle of about sixty degrees. They'd used a metal bolt, Amber saw as she helped Ebony and the two men lift the ten metre beam into place, but she had no idea how they had managed to get it in there. Now they were lining up a hole on the beam with a matching one in the brace. The only problem was that somebody, in this case Jack, had to lie a metre and a half along the beam to fit the bolt that would hold the two together.

"Are you sure there isn't an easier way of doing this?" Ebony asked uneasily as Jack selected the tools he would need from their small pile.

"Easier, yeah: it would be easier to sit upright on the beam and fit the bolt that way," Jack shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure I want to try that one out over a drop like that, though. I mean we don't exactly have safety harnesses and helmets you know."

"Just be careful," she said, her fingers grazing the back of Jack's free hand.

"I'll be fine," he assured her, his fingers flexing to tangle with hers for the briefest of moments. "I got the other one done no problem. And after this, it's all plain sailing."

Ebony nodded, her hand falling back to her side, and watched as Jack flattened himself along the suddenly insubstantial seeming piece of timber.

With both Ebony and Amber acting as counterbalance for the beam, Ram could concentrate more on holding the only part of Jack remaining on terra firma: his ankles and feet. The bolt itself went in smoothly and without complaint. Ebony felt the beam wobble slightly as Jack reached back into his pocket for the nut to fasten on the base of the bolt and hold it tightly in place. She listened to the distinct sounds of metal on metal as Jack attached the bolt, swearing quietly every time it caught on his fingers. Finally, it was done. At last, the beam was secure and Jack was shimmying backwards along the beam. Ebony let out the breath she was holding and relaxed.

A shout of alarm from Ram brought her attention snapping back round to the platform. Ebony rose to her feet and paled at the sight of Jack, dangling over the precipice, held only by Amber and Ram, one on each ankle. A sharp pain in her foot brought Ebony back to the others around her and she was suddenly aware of Amber shouting at her.

"The rope, Ebony! Get the rope!" Amber snapped, the panic showing all too horribly clearly in her voice.

Ebony turned, grabbing the rope and knotting one end of it round her slim waist. In seconds she was back at the edge, dropping the rope down to Jack and bracing herself against a rise in the rock.

The wait seemed interminable. The panic and fear unbearable. Yet it could hardly have taken the three of them more than two minutes to haul Jack back to the safety of the bank. Overwhelmed by relief, all four collapsed on the ground, breathing deeply. Ram, sociopathic as ever, was the first to recover, sitting up and surveying the others with an analytical eye.

"Well, I guess we know your new rope is up to the job, Amber," he said, getting to his feet and holding out a hand to the city leader. "Now we just need to get these two untied."

"Two?" Amber looked round and down at the seated forms of Jack and Ebony. She saw Jack's head snap round and watched him scramble to his feet, dragging Ebony up to hers.

"What were you thinking!" Jack shouted, tugging at the knot around Ebony's waist. "I'm way heavier than you are! If they'd lost their grip on me, or you'd lost your footing, you'd have gone over there with me!"

"They didn't!" Ebony snapped back. "I'm fine! I didn't exactly have many options! The nearest tree was too far away! Unless, of course you wanted us to tie the rope around your ankle!"

"You know in some civilisations," breezed Ram, "tying a couple together constituted a marriage ceremony."

"Shut up Ram!" Ebony snapped.

"Anyway, that's hand-fasting," Jack added, still fumbling with the knot. "That was just the hands that got tied together. It's some kind of pagan ceremony I think."

"You seem to know a lot about it?" Ram smirked. "Considering tying the knot were we?"

"Shut up Ram," muttered Jack, concentrating on his task.

At the sound of a sharp cry, Jack became aware of a slight pressure against his chest. Looking down, he saw Ebony's fist knotted in the fabric of his shirt. His eyes moved from the hand to its owner, meeting hers for the first time in days. They were filled with pain. His hands stilled, the problem of the knotted rope momentarily forgotten.

"I don't feel too good," said Ebony quietly, and collapsed in his arms.

XXXX

Lex was looking over his shoulder yet again. He had been doing that a lot, Luke considered. Perhaps he had underestimated the famous warrior champion of the Mall Rats, sheriff of the city, leader of the rebellion and husband of the great Supreme Mother, Tai San. Luke smiled ruefully. He could still remember a time when he had hated Lex. That hatred had been founded on the sheriff's part in Zoot's death, but had been fed with his refusal to submit to the will of the Chosen, his part in the rebellion against them and even his heretical relationship with the second Supreme Mother.

Now, of course, he counted Lex amongst one of his friends and allies. He owed him a debt of gratitude for his part in rescuing not just Luke himself, but also so many others from the lies of the Chosen. That debt was one that Luke could repay in part by helping Lex and his friends settle in their new home. It was one he owed to all the Mall Rats of that time, both those in the campsite and the others he had seen on his travels since, and to one Mall Rat in particular. The thought that she was well cheered him.

Smiling, Luke risked a glance back over his own shoulder. Their faithful shadow was nowhere to be seen, but he felt sure the young man was there somewhere. The route they had taken was one that allowed many easy hiding places and both Luke and the shadow knew the land well. It was unlikely that Lex had actually spotted the youth - if he had, he would have mentioned it by now - but that did not mean he was unaware of the extra presence. Sometimes it was easy to see why the spirits of Lex and Tai San had bonded so completely.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Quickly, get her to my chalet, Jack," Amber ordered, cutting the rope around first Ebony's waist, then Jack's. "Ram, go and round up everyone. Get them round the campfire: I'll need to talk to them. Get Salene and Trudy to meet us at my chalet. Salene especially!"

Ram was gone before Amber had finished speaking. Jack followed at an only slightly slower pace, carrying the unconscious Ebony while Amber, still carrying her son, checked her wrist for a pulse. Within seconds the chalet was before them and, as they rounded the corner, Trudy and Jay met them, Brady in her mother's arms.

"Jay, take Bray, quickly," said Amber, passing the infant to his stepfather as Jack carried on past them and into the chalet. "And look after Brady: I need Trudy. Trudy: go with Jack. Find him somewhere to put Ebony down. She's bleeding badly. Salene!" Amber called as the redhead hurried over, followed by May and Ellie. "Go with Trudy. Help her. Send Jack out to me." Amber strode past Jay and grabbed May and Ellie. "Ellie: go get the kids and keep them occupied. We need water, they can do that and make sure they keep it coming. May, I need any scrap materials we have. We're going to need something to clean up with and clean bedding come to that. Ruby!" Amber shouted over to the blonde waiting by the campfire. "You and Slade get that fire going well: we might to sterilise stuff and we'll all need fed. It wouldn't hurt to boil some water, just to make sure it's clean. You'll need to cool it afterwards though. Ram, follow me."

"What's going on, Amber?" Slade called back as Amber turned towards the chalet again. "Ram said Ebony collapsed!"

"I don't have time Slade!" Amber called back, putting off the truth for as long as possible.

"Amber!" Jack called, passing the leader on the steps of the chalet.

"Stay out of it Jack," Amber warned him, turning on her heel to face him. "Go help the kids with the water and if I need you for anything, I'll send someone."

"But!"

"No buts, Jack!" Amber shouted. "I can't worry about you and Ebony at the same time."

When Amber reached the spare single bedroom where Ebony lay, Salene and Trudy had already got her out of her clothes and into one of Trudy's night-dresses. Ram hesitated in the hallway until Amber called for him.

"What have I missed?" Amber asked the other two young women.

"She's lost a lot of blood," said Trudy. "She's still bleeding a bit, but it seems to have slowed down at least. We've cleaned the worst off her, but I don't know how to get the bleeding to stop."

"Ram?" Amber turned to the only man allowed in the chalet. "Your turn: you had the best medical care in the city when the Technos took over. How do we stop her bleeding?"

"Ordinarily," Ram shrugged, "one would put pressure on the wound. That's not an option here."

"Well, what are our options?" Amber snapped.

Ram frowned and closed his eyes. "Lowering blood pressure should help slow the blood flow and give the body a chance to heal. Nettle tea is the only thing we've got that might help there, but she'd have to be awake to drink it. Yarrow is one plant I can think of that actually might stop the bleeding, but it doesn't grow here. We might be able to find some celery pine: it's old name is tanekaha, the bark can be used in a decoction to treat internal haemorrhage. Other than that, though, all we can do is try and stop her getting an infection and hope she wakes up."

"We've no antibiotics, Ram. If she gets an infection, there is nothing we can do about it!"

"There should be some tea tree, manic, around here somewhere. We can use it as an antiseptic," Ram offered. "It's one thing we don't have to get her to take internally at least."

"Can you prepare it?" Amber asked.

"If I can find them, I can prepare them," Ram nodded. "I'll need boiling water, a pot to simmer the herbs in, a knife to cut them with and something to strain them with. It'll take at least half an hour to make the decoctions, though. And that's after collecting the plants!"

"The sooner you start, the sooner you'll be finished," said Amber. "Take Jack. It'll give him something to do and keep him out of our hair. And try to keep the details quiet. Once we know the whole story, I'll tell Slade myself."

Ram nodded and left the room. Amber turned back to where Trudy was taking Ebony's pulse. Salene stood to one side, her arms folded over her abdomen.

"What can you tell us, Sal?" Amber asked gently. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but we really need to know as much as possible right now. What do you remember?"

"Not a lot," Salene shrugged. "I was unconscious for most of it myself. Luke told me later that I'd lost a lot of blood, so I guess that's normal, but I don't know how they stopped it. She can't have been far gone: we couldn't find anything that looked like a solid mass or embryo."

"Amber!" May's voice rang through the chalet, followed shortly by the young woman herself. "This is all I could find," she said, over a pile of diverse rags. "Ruby's got some water heating already and Slade is stocking up on firewood."

"Get me some warm water please, May," Amber replied. "You can leave those on the dresser. I'll sort them out. Thank you."

May nodded, deposited the rags and hurried out. Amber looked over to Salene and nodded towards the pile of rags.

"Give me a hand here, Salene," she said. "Anything that's grimy, just stick it on the chair over there. Anything that Ram could use to strain his herbs with, we'll put on this side. Anything absorbent on the other. The rest we can leave in the middle."

Without a word, her mind still recalling the unborn child she herself had lost, Salene began the task. Amber divided her attention between the pile of rags and Trudy and her patient.

By the time the three women had sorted the rags and used some of the more absorbent, along with the warm water May had brought, to clean the rest of the blood from Ebony's body, Ram had returned. He had not been able to find any tanekaha, or celery pine, but it seemed that the manuka, or tea tree, was plentiful on the island. Mercifully, the bleeding had stopped by the time he broke this news to Amber.

An hour after Ebony's collapse, Amber and Salene finally emerged from the chalet. The sky was growing darker and the rest of the tribe has assembled around the campfire, awaiting news. There were seven benches surrounding the campfire - enough room for twice the number seated there - but every bench was occupied by someone. Gel sat alone. Sammy and Lottie huddled together on one bench. May and Ellie shared another. Ruby and Slade shared the fourth. Jay, with baby Bray on his knee and Brady by his side, had taken over the fifth bench. Ram, with his accumulation of herbs and apparatus, had the sixth. Jack sat alone on the seventh bench, staring blankly into the flames. Amber nodded to Salene, who laid a hand on Slade's shoulder, whispered in his ear, then took the seat he vacated next to Ruby.

Amber waited until Slade was by her side, casting an eye over to Jack to see him watching them with a worried look on his face, then turned away from the group and led Slade over to the side of the chalet.

"What is it, Amber?" Slade asked, keeping his voice low. "I know I can make a fairly good guess, but I need to hear you say it."

Amber nodded. "She miscarried. I'm sorry, Slade. She wasn't far gone. She might not even have known she was pregnant."

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Amber shook her head. "It could have been a lot of things. We'd been working hard all day. She's been putting herself through a lot, physically, ever since we got here. Especially with the trip through the caves."

"If it was that, she'd have collapsed a lot earlier," said Slade sharply. "What aren't you telling me, Amber?"

"There was an accident," said Amber, wincing. "We nearly lost Jack. He slipped off the platform the boys are building. It took all three of us to get him back to safety."

Slade looked down in silence, his expression unreadable. With a deep breath, he suddenly looked up at Amber.

"I saw Jack carrying her," he said. "After Ram had got us to the campfire. Why let Jack carry her and send Ram ahead? Surely Ram has the stronger arms and I know Jack's a faster runner."

"Jack was closest," Amber shook her head and shrugged, thinking how often that day she had seen the gesture and how many things it could convey. "That was all."

"Really?"

Amber flinched at the look in Slade's eye at that last word. It was a look she had seen before, years before, from Bray. She had seen it from him just after Sasha had joined them in the mall.

"Evening all!" called a cheery voice from the entrance to the campsite. Amber turned to see Lex striding along in the half light, Ben and Darryl behind him and a familiar blue-haired form by his side. "What'd I miss, and don't say dinner!"

Leaving Slade by the side of the chalet, Amber walked over to the new arrivals. She was joined by Jay, surrounded by Bray and Brady but unwilling to withdraw completely from his place as leader.

"Whoa, who died?" Darryl exclaimed at the silent reply to their return.

"Darryl, shut up a minute," said Lex quickly, holding out a hand to keep the others back. "Amber, what's wrong?"

"Ebony miscarried," said Amber. "She still hasn't woken up yet. We've done everything we can, but that's not much."

"Ebony was pregnant?" Lex's eyebrows slid up his forehead.

"We're not sure if even she knew," Amber sighed and turned to the man at Lex's side. "Luke," she said. "It's good to see you. I'm sorry we can't offer you a more cheerful welcome. I don't know how much Lex has told you, but I know there's still more for you to catch up on. You might want to tread carefully around Ellie and Jack at the moment though."

"I'm not here to cause trouble, Amber," said Luke. "I'm here to deliver your friends to you and help you find your way around. Perhaps I can help with this also."

"What do you mean?" Jay frowned.

"Let me send to my village for our healer. We have an extensive plantation now, with fruits, vegetables and many medicinal plants."

"How long will that take?" Amber asked, her brow creasing.

"I can send the message tonight. I only need to take a light to the top of the hill," Luke replied. "A party can be here from our village in a day."

"A day?" Amber cried. "She could be dead by then!"

"Is she still losing blood?" Luke asked, taking Amber's hands.

"No," Amber shook her head.

"Then the worst danger is passed. Don't worry. I remember Salene's miscarriage. She really did give us a scare, but she was all right after a few days in our hospital."

"But you had a hospital," said Amber. "We don't. We barely have a clean room! She might not be losing any more blood but she could still catch an infection. She might even already have one!"

"Either way," Luke said calmly, "there's not much more that we can do in the next twenty four hours. Let me send for our healer and if anything else goes wrong she can deal with it. If nothing else, she can check Ebony and the rest of you over and teach you a little about the native plants here."

Amber nodded and watched as Luke turned and headed back up the hill out of the forest. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked round to Lex again.

"How's Slade?"

"I don't know," Amber shook her head. "I've got a horrible feeling he's looking for someone to blame."

"Is there someone to blame?" Lex frowned.

"No," said Amber clearly. "But I'm not sure that's how Slade will see it."

"Why?"

"Ebony saved Jack's life. Ram and I too, but we couldn't have done it without her."

"That's hardly Jack's fault!"

"There's more. It's a long story and half of it's pure gossip thanks to Ellie," Amber watched Lex's eyes roll in understanding.

"I'll look after him," he sighed. "I can relate on one of those scores at least. I'll try and get some sense out of him on the other."

"Thanks Lex," Amber nodded.

"Yeah, just make sure I get a decent portion of whatever's cooking," Lex called over his shoulder as he made his way towards the chalet and Slade.

Amber turned back to where Jay was trying to persuade Brady to take Darryl's hand, or at the very least detach her from his leg so that he could carry Bray back to the warmth of the campfire. She lifted her son out of Jay's arms and let him pick up the tired little girl burying her head in his cargoes.

"Welcome home guys," sighed Amber. "Go grab a seat by the fire."

By the time dinner was served, Luke was walking towards the campfire once more. As he approached, Ellie got to her feet, wringing her hands nervously. Jack, Amber noted, was still staring into the fire. When Ellie walked past him, he looked up and Amber saw with a shock the glitter of moisture on his cheek, reflecting the firelight. Jack's gaze followed Ellie and he spotted Luke for the first time. The introspective gaze had disappeared and been replaced by an odd, unreadable countenance somewhere between anger, curiosity, hope and resignation.

"Luke!" Ellie's delight was barely hidden.

"You remember me then?" Luke asked, avoiding the hands that Ellie held out to him. "Lex told me of your amnesia."

"I didn't to start with, but I do now," Ellie explained. "I have done for a day or two now."

"I'm glad," Luke smiled. "I was so worried when the Technos separated us. I saw them shoot you when they dragged me away. There must have been half a dozen lasers hit you at least. There was nothing I could do. Ellie, I'm so sorry, I thought you were dead! They just left you there in the mines with all the work going on around you. The last memory I have of you is you lying there in the mud with everyone ignoring you."

"But that's the first thing I remember when I lost my memory," said Ellie, frowning. "Waking up in the mud, not able to remember even my name. And everyone around me wouldn't even look at me. Not even the guards."

Silence fell. Amber looked back to Jack. His head was in his hands. Suddenly, he stood up and walked over.

"Question," said Jack, standing facing the gap between Ellie and Luke and deliberately not looking at either. "How long ago was this, Luke?"

"About... five months, Jack," Luke replied, looking round at the younger man. "Why?"

"Right," Jack nodded once, took a deep breath, opened his mouth to say something, closed it again, shook his head and turned and walked away into the darkness.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The day after Luke's arrival dawned clear and bright. Ram was one of the first to assemble at the campfire, rekindling the flames and setting pots of water to boil in anticipation of breakfast. Gradually, he was joined by the others. Ruby arrived alone, preceded by Lottie and followed later by Sammy and Gel, but without any sight of Slade. May and Salene arrived together, with the news that Luke had slept on the sofa in their chalet. He and Ellie had talked late into the night and were talking again now. Their conversation had been punctuated throughout with worried mentionings of Jack, mostly from Ellie and followed by Luke's soothing, gentle voice. Jack had not been seen since he had left the campfire the night before. Arguably, nor had Slade, but Lex was with him in Ebony's chalet and everyone knew the two men were best left alone for now: Slade to deal with his grief and anger, Lex to help guide him through it. Darryl and Ben had shared Ram's cabin, but were the last to join the group, arriving just after Jay and Trudy with Bray and Brady. Amber did not arrive. Trudy explained that she was watching Ebony, and had been all night.

In the absence of Luke, Jack, Ellie, Slade and Ebony, the conversation turned immediately to their complex problems. Gossip was the norm and had been ever since the first virus, taking the place of chat shows and weekly magazines. Now without even old magazines and books to amuse, and matter of such interest to discuss, it was no surprise that, when Luke and Ellie did finally arrive at the fire, the conversation drew to a sudden and uneasy halt.

"It's alright," said Luke, addressing the tribe in general. "Ellie's told me about the baby."

Ellie nodded at his side. Wringing her hands nervously, she stepped closer to the group. "You all know I'm pregnant," she said, keeping her eyes on the fire. "Some of you knew before, but you all know now. What you might be wondering is why, that being the case, Jack disappeared as he did last night. It was because he must have realised what I didn't at the time. You see, the baby I'm having, well, it's not Jack's. He knew that. At the time, I had no memory of what had happened to me in the Techno prison camps, so I didn't know who the father was. All I could do was work out, from when the morning sickness started, roughly how far along I was. Right about now, I'm a little over five months," She paused and watched eleven expressions turn inward and recall the conversation of the night before. One by one, all eyes turned upward and looked from Ellie to Luke. "From what I can remember myself, and from what Luke has told me, it's clear now that Luke is the father of this baby. I know Jack must have worked that out. I don't know what he's thinking or doing right now, though. If any of you see him, or you know where he is, please, please tell him I'm sorry and I need to talk to him. I really need to talk to him."

From the window of chalet one, the chalet inhabited by Amber, Jay, Trudy, Brady, Bray and now Ebony, an extra face peered out from behind a curtain.

"What d'you think she's saying to them?" Jack murmured quietly.

"I don't know, Jack: I really don't," Amber shrugged. "Why don't you just go out there and find out? You've been here all night. Not that I don't appreciate the extra pair of eyes and the few hours sleep, but you can't stay here. Trudy will be bringing me breakfast soon and she'll want to check in on Ebony."

"I'll..." Jack looked around the room. "I'll hide in the-the wardrobe or something."

Amber's eyebrows raised and she smiled in amusement. "That's a little cliché, don't you think? The secret lover hiding in the wardrobe?"

"We're not lovers!" Jack snapped, frowning at Amber. "We're friends, that's all! There's nothing going on between us."

Amber raised an eyebrow in reply. He really was too easy to wind up.

"There isn't!" Jack protested, waving his hands around.

"Relax," Amber laughed, "I'm only teasing."

"Yeah, you might be," Jack scoffed, leaning back against the wall and sliding down to sit below the level of the window, where Ebony's bed could easily hide him from any sudden entrants to the room. "You didn't see the look Slade gave me when Lex led him past!"

"Lex'll calm him down. He's just grieving," Amber shifted in her wicker chair. "He's looking for reasons and blaming someone makes it easier to deal with."

"He didn't even know she was pregnant!"

"Jack, that's not fair!" Amber cried, surprised. "We don't even know that Ebony knew!"

From her seat on the chair, Amber could see Jack clearly. The years had changed them all, physically and mentally, and Jack more than most, but the maturity of years was not enough to hide the fact he was holding back tears. The flush across his face, the concentrated stare focussing on something inanimate and unimportant, the glassy sheen to his eyes, even the way he still bit his lip and tugged at his hair. All these and more were signs Amber had learned to recognise long ago.

"It's not your fault, Jack," said Amber softly. "You'd be dead if Ebony hadn't got that rope to you in time."

"Maybe," murmured Jack, his voice low and husky. "Or maybe I'd have got back up the cliff some other way and none of this would be happening. Or... Or... I don't know! All I know is that saving me has cost one life already and another one is still hanging in the balance! Can you really say I'm worth that? I'm just one guy: you don't need me! I mean sure, I can build stuff and work stuff out and so on, but so can Ram! Who knows what that kid might have turned out to be!"

"There wasn't even a visible embryo, Jack: it was just a ball of cells. Ebony might have miscarried further down the line anyway."

"It was still a life!" Jack let his hands fall down, palms upward. "We don't know what it could have become! I don't know much about souls and personalities and all that pseudo-religious mumbo jumbo, but I do know what constitutes a living thing, whether I can see it or not!"

The sound of the outer door creaking interrupted their conversation. Jack slid down and rolled under the bed just in time to hear the bedroom door open and the familiar sound of Trudy's footsteps cross the floor.

"I thought you'd be hungry," he heard Trudy say, hearing the clink of cutlery against crockery as the food was passed to Amber. "Once you've eaten, why don't you go for a lie down? You must be shattered, sitting here all night without a wink of sleep! Jay's asked Salene and May to look after the kids and Ram's got the others organised making that rope you were so worried about yesterday. I can keep an eye on things here and Jay's helping Ram with the platform."

Amber sighed. Despite Trudy's unknowing exaggeration, she was tired, and she was certainly hungry. Glancing down at the valence that encircled Ebony's bed, hiding Jack from view from any angle, Amber nodded. To do otherwise would make Trudy suspicious and she could do with the rest. To be honest, so could Jack, she thought. As far as she could tell, he hadn't slept that night. Their conversations had been short and muted, but there was no hiding the fact he had a lot on his mind. He could do with the space, albeit metaphorical, to think.

Hearing Amber's acquiescence, Jack resettled his head on the folded blanket he and Amber had put there in anticipation of just such an occurrence. Granted, if Ebony woke up he would be out of his hiding place like a shot, but otherwise he was staying right where he was until Amber was able to take over from Trudy once again.

The first hour went smoothly enough. Listening to the small noises of Trudy moving round the bed and settling herself into the wicker chair, and unable to see what was going on, Jack closed his eyes and drifted into a much needed sleep. It was the sound of the door opening that woke him. At first he thought the newcomer was Amber, and that he'd slept longer than he realised, but then he realised the footsteps were much heavier.

"What are you doing here?" Trudy hissed, rising from her seat and walking towards the new person and the door. "You're supposed to be helping Ram!"

"He doesn't need me," Jay's unmistakable voice replied.

Jack frowned. Surely Jay would have checked the bedroom first for Amber if he knew Trudy was going to persuade her to lie down. Then again, maybe he had and was coming to see if Trudy needed anything.

"You shouldn't be here," Trudy hissed, her tones hushed and urgent. "What if Amber sees you?"

"Sees me where? In my own house?" Jay's voice was also quiet, but more confident. It filled Jack with the direst of forebodings. "Relax, Trudy: she's sound asleep. I checked on her first. If she does wake up, we'll hear her door opening before she gets here."

"I don't like this, Jay: we have to tell her!" Trudy's footfalls shuffled closer to Jay. There was silence for a long moment, broken finally by the sound of lips parting. Jack rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly. Sometimes eavesdropping on a private conversation was preferable to other alternatives.

"We will tell her, Trudy," said Jay. "Believe me, we will." Something in the way he said it didn't exactly fill Jack with confidence that he was being truthful. "She's just got so much on her plate right now, with Ebony and everything. We can't burden her with this too. Once Ebony's better, we'll tell her. I promise."

A litany of silent curses crossed Jack's lips as he tried to block out the sound of his best friend's boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend.

Three hours later, long after Jay had left and Trudy had settled back into her chair, another noise roused Jack from the doze he had fallen into. This time the noise did not come from the doorway. Instead, it came from right above Jack's head. His intake of breath was so sharp he felt sure Trudy must have heard him. If she did, though, she must have assumed the sound came from Ebony, for the sudden light of someone lifting the valence and finding him never occurred.

Jack listened as the wicker chair creaked, relieved of the weight of Trudy's body, and the footsteps made their way across to the bed.

"Ebony?" Trudy's voice was quiet, half hopeful, half terrified.

Silence.

Trudy's footsteps tracked her progress back a few steps. She was turning back to her chair when the sound from the bed made her stop.

"Jack?" Ebony's voice was weak and quiet, but Jack could hear her clearly.

"Ebony?" Trudy turned back to the bed, her voice louder, more definite, now. "Ebony, it's Trudy. Can you hear me?"

"Where's Jack? Is he okay? Where's Amber?" Ebony's words tumbled out, quiet and hoarse as they were.

"Jack's fine," said Trudy. Jack's expression, had she been able to see it, would have told her what he thought of that statement. "At least he was the last time I saw him. Amber's sleeping. Ebony, how are you feeling?"

"Water," Ebony murmured. "Help me sit."

"I'll get the water," said Trudy, "but I'm not sure you should be sitting up yet."

Jack listened as Trudy's footsteps hurried from the room. Reaching a hand out and around the side of the bed frame, he hauled himself out from his hiding place and sat up. Ebony jumped in surprise, but didn't cry out. Instead she aimed a swipe at him and took a deep breath.

"What on earth were you doing under there?" Ebony hissed.

"Hiding, what else?" Jack shrugged. "Look, only Amber knows I'm here, and I'd rather keep it that way, other than you. How are you feeling?"

"What's going on, Jack?" Ebony's expression registered puzzlement, amusement and deep, deep weariness.

"I'll tell you later," Jack glanced round at the door. He could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. Ducking back under the bed, he was out of sight before the door opened.

"Here we are," said Trudy merrily, carrying a tray with a glass of water and a bowl of thin gruel. "We might not have the best cuisine just yet, but at least we have decent dishes to eat it out of!" She placed the tray down on the bedside table, walked over to the wardrobe and pulled another pillow out of the top of it. Helping Ebony sit up and propping the pillow behind her back, she handed the glass to her patient and continued. "Jay's going to try and catch some fish again today. Lex got back with Darryl and Ben last night and guess who he brought with him? Luke!" Ebony stifled a choking fit as Trudy wittered on. "Apparently he's been living here with another tribe made up of Techno prisoners. He's promised to show the boys all the best places round here to fish and where to find eggs and lay traps and what plants we can eat or use."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Ebony felt like Trudy's incessant chatter had gone on for hours before the mother finally went to wake Amber and left her in peace. She'd only listened with half an ear to the vast volume of information pouring out of Trudy's mouth, but she'd heard enough to know why Jack was so keen to stay out of the way. Out of Luke's way, that is. And Ellie's.

"Are you okay?" Ebony quietly asked the ceiling.

"I'll live," replied the invisible voice beneath her. "I'm not the one who's been unconscious for half a day."

"No, you're just the one who's been avoiding the issue for half a day. Deliberately."

"I needed time to think," Jack sighed, and Ebony could almost hear the shrug that accompanied his words. "About what to do next and all that."

"And?"

"And I was worried about you."

"Thanks, but you know that's not what I meant," Ebony tried to suppress a smile and failed.

"Yeah, well..." Jack paused as a door shut somewhere else in the chalet. "That'll be them. Trudy cannot know I'm here!"

"Why Trudy?" Ebony hissed, frowning.

The door to the room opened before Jack could reply, if, thought Ebony, he had ever intended to, and Amber and Trudy walked in, Trudy carrying baby Bray and staying back at the door. Amber, her hands free, hurried over to Ebony's side and sat down on the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" Amber watched Ebony's face closely. "Honestly, Ebony."

"I feel fine," Ebony shrugged, pushing herself up into a sitting position. "A little weak, maybe and, oh, a little light headed too," she leant back and Amber propped her up on a few extra pillows. "What kind of a wimp am I to go passing out from period pains? Seriously!"

Amber leant back a little, frowning and looked round to Trudy. "You didn't tell her?"

"Tell me what?" Ebony asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well, you two are so much closer now..." Trudy shrugged. "You know, I think Bray needs changing. I'd better just go see to that..."

Watching the door fall shut as Trudy hurried away, Amber sighed, her shoulders sagging under the weight of this new burden.

"What is it, Amber?" Ebony's voice was low but steady, her eyes watching the blonde Zulu knots.

A movement from the opposite side of the bed drew both the girls' attention. Jack sat on Ebony's other side and took her hand.

"Oh great, now I know it's bad!" Ebony quipped, nervous anxiety beginning to descend into sarcastic anger. "Will one of you please just tell me what's going on?"

Amber looked back to Ebony, glanced over at Jack, and took a deep breath.

"Ebony you were pregnant," she said, watching the other girl's face.

Ebony's gaze went off to the side, frowning, as she considered these words. It never moved when she spoke again.

"I was pregnant. Was, past tense, meaning I'm not now. You're telling me I miscarried?"

"Yes," it was Jack's voice that answered her.

"Huh," Ebony still did not move, "Tai San would say it was Karma."

"What do you mean?" Amber frowned.

"I deserve it," Ebony shrugged simply. The frown was gone from her face now, replaced by an utterly blank expression, her eyes staring at the floor.

"No you don't," said Amber, taking Ebony's other hand in hers. "Nobody deserves that."

"But I do, don't I," Ebony replied, more a statement than a question. "I pushed Ruby into that truck hoping that's exactly what would happen to her. What more fitting punishment is there than that? An eye for an eye..."

"Don't," said Jack sharply. "Tai San was a space cadet. Karma is nonsense. If it wasn't for you we would never have caught up with Mega's game in time. If it wasn't for you, the guardian might still be in power! In fact, when you think about it, you've saved our lives so many times I've lost count! How does Karma figure that in? You protected us from the Locos. You helped us get out of the city and up to Eagle Mountain. You gave us security in the Mall when the city was battering down the grills to get the antidote. The list goes on! Right up to and including the fact that I'm only here right now because you helped pull me up that cliff! You saved my life, Ebony. If you want to blame someone, blame me: it was my weight on that rope that caused the miscarriage."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ebony pulled away from Jack and turned to face him, dragging her other hand out of Amber's grasp in the process. "I was the one that tied the damn rope around my waist, not you! And I'd still have tied it there even if I had known I was pregnant!"

"Ebony..." Jack started.

"Yes, I would!" Ebony snapped. "I have taken risks all my life Jack. Do you really think I'd stand back and watch some I care about die rather than take another one? And what in the world makes you think that saving your ass is more likely to cause that than watching you fall?"

Amber's eyes moved from Ebony to Jack. He looked as if she had just slapped him. If he'd meant to rile her out of her silence, his plan had worked. Even if he hadn't, he had certainly just got a lot more than he bargained for. Even if he hadn't worked out the full meaning behind what Ebony had just admitted, and Amber was sure that, Jack being Jack, he probably hadn't, he surely couldn't still blame himself for the miscarriage. That had, after all, been partly why he had chosen Ebony's room as his hiding place. Amber had seen that guilt in his eyes the moment he had lifted Ebony's unconsious form into his arms, back at the cliff top. There had been no argument she could voice to dissuade him then, not while Ebony still slept. He had had to hear it from Ebony herself. Now that he had, hopefully he could move on. Persuading Slade of Jack's innocence in the matter would be considerably easier if Jack believed it himself!

Jack turned away and stood up, walking away from the bed, his expression unreadable. Amber cast a glance over to Ebony and was shocked to find her looking more vulnerable that she ever had before. Ebony noticed that Amber's gaze had returned to her and, suddenly, the mask was back in place. The door slammed and Amber looked round and felt her jaw drop. The room was empty bar herself and Ebony. Jack was gone.

"What the..." Amber muttered.

"And they call me the drama queen!" Ebony murmured quietly. When Amber looked round to her, she was lying back on the pillows again, looking up at the ceiling. From the glassy look in her eyes, Amber thought she could guess why.

"It's okay, you know," she said. "Nobody is expecting you to be your usual self right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ebony retorted half-heartedly, her voice thick with emotion.

"You know full well what I mean," said Amber. "Defences up on all sides, not letting anyone near you see how you really feel. You forget: I've known you too long now, Ebony."

"You don't know everything," Ebony replied sullenly, a single tear escaping and sliding down her cheek.

"I know you're in love with Jack," Amber heard Ebony's breath hitch.

"I think I want to sleep now," said Ebony. "Would you get rid of these extra pillows please?"

Amber nodded and stood up. As soon as the extra padding was gone, Ebony slunk down in the bed again, rolling onto her side and pulling the covers over her. Amber called her name but got no reply. With a sigh and a shrug, Amber turned and left the room, closing the door behind her more gently than Jack had. In the hallway, she met Trudy.

"Was that Jack I saw storming out of here?" Trudy asked, handing Amber her son.

"Yeah, he's been staying out of Luke and Ellie's way," Amber sighed. "Not to mention Slade's! He just needs a bit of time to himself, I think."

"So he went to visit Ebony?" Trudy's face was a picture of disbelief. "That's hardly time to himself."

"He's been there all night, hiding," Amber explained. "We talked for a while while I was watching her and he took a turn keeping an eye on her so that I could get some sleep. He hid under the bed when you came in, but now you've seen him I guess there's no point in keeping that secret. I wouldn't tell Slade yet though. Not until we know he's stopped blaming Jack for the miscarriage."

"Why?" Trudy frowned, although her expression looked decidedly distracted.

"Oh you know: so that he doesn't end up beating Jack to a pulp!" Amber rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Trudy, you'd think you were the one awake half the night with Ebony, not me!"


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Jack dropped the piece of grass he'd been tearing up and looked up. You could see quite far from up here, he thought. The day was clear, if rather windy, and he could make out the curve of the river that ran alongside the campsite. The land fell away sharply in some places and sloped down to meet the stream in others. With his eyes, he traced the path of the winding waterway until it vanished down into a valley too low for him to see. Perhaps they should have held out for better, he thought, and explored the lowland areas of the island before settling in the campsite. The prospect of real beds and separate rooms for everyone had been far too tempting, though.

Once again, he found his thoughts turning to the worry he had voiced before the rest of the tribe had arrived: if there are others on the island, why hadn't they taken over the campsite? Of course at the time he had only known that there were definitely others on the island, not exactly who they were. He had been fairly sure that the person he had spotted from the boat had been Luke. Now he knew he was right, but that just raised even more questions. If Luke was here, then who else was? Where were they? Why hadn't they settled in the campsite? And more importantly: how did they survive? It was true that there were fish in the river and various edible plants around the campsite, but that wouldn't last all winter. Was that why Luke's new tribe had settled elsewhere?

Jack grew aware of a decrease in the light and temperature around him and looked up. The strong wind was blowing in a thick, dark cloud and it looked ready to burst at any moment. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to the narrow opening in the hillside behind him. Maybe he did have a lot of questions to ask Luke, but he wasn't quite ready to ask them yet. He had a few questions to ask himself first. More than a few.

He didn't know exactly why his feet had brought him back to the cave entrance. He certainly had no intention of making his way back through the damp, dark tunnels to the beach they had landed at. Maybe it was his subconscious taking him back to where his dilemma had first started. Or maybe it had just worked out the place the others were least likely to visit. As he settled his back against the cold rock wall, he closed his eyes. In the dim half light allowed by the narrow opening to the outside world, there was little point in keeping them open. He sighed. He would have to go back eventually. He hadn't eaten since the previous day. He wasn't feeling hungry yet, but he would be soon. Then what? He couldn't very well go back to the cabin he had shared with Ellie. Apart from the duplicity of the idea on his part, he was fairly sure he could guess where Luke was staying at present and that didn't leave much room for him. He couldn't go to Amber's: Ebony was there. Likewise, he couldn't go to Ebony's: Slade was there. He would rather sleep in the cave than share any form of accommodation, however spacious, with Gel, Sammy and Lottie. That only left Ram's cabin and Darryl and Ben had now taken up residence there it seemed. One of the other cabins might do, he supposed. Cabin three hadn't looked too bad. It was right next door to cabin one, where Ebony was currently recovering, and where Jay was cheating on Amber with her best friend.

That one made him angry. Amber deserved better, both from Jay and from Trudy. What was worse was the fact that Jay sounded like he had no intention of telling her about the affair. Trudy wouldn't agree with that, of course, and there was always the possibility that she would tell Amber herself, but then Trudy had always had a massive blind spot when it came to men. Especially men who seemed to prefer Amber to her.

He wasn't sure what made him angrier: the fact that his best friend was going to get hurt; the likelihood that he would have to be the one to tell her; or the fact that he was still kicking himself for doing the same to Ellie, albeit not exactly with her best friend. He really hadn't meant for the kiss to get as involved, or as intense, as it had. He really had just panicked and gone for the most direct way of distracting Ebony. Admittedly, it had worked. That was certain! He just hadn't quite thought through the consequences and repercussions of his genius strategy. Like the fact that Ebony might actually kiss him back. Or that he might actually feel something when she did. That he might forget, for a moment that he was with Ellie, that he wasn't meant to be kissing anyone, other than her. He definitely hadn't even considered the possibility of the second kiss! He knew Ebony was someone who liked to get even when she felt herself slighted in any way, but he hadn't thought her revenge would take that form. A slap, maybe. A punch or kick, even. Not a kiss. Definitely not that kind of kiss!

And now she was saying what? That she "cared for him"? How much do you have to care for someone before you put their life before your own? Even before your unborn child's? If it had been anyone else - Amber, Salene, Trudy - no, maybe not Trudy - he might have thought little of it. Just the reassurance of a friend. Ebony didn't do reassurance. Not like that. Not at those stakes. And she meant what she said.

He dragged his hand through his hair. He was confused. That was pretty much the one thing he was clear about. On the one hand he was hurting over losing Ellie, but then he was feeling guilty because he wasn't hurting as much as he thought he would be. If anything, he would say he was feeling relieved on that score. Relieved that the dreaded moment was now past. Relieved that the burden of fatherhood had been lifted from his shoulders. Relieved that he no longer had to decide who he wanted to be with. In a way, it simplified matters. Ellie was with Luke. It was his baby she was having and they would likely stay together for good now. That meant he was free. Free to let go of his first love. Free to move on.

Move on to what? He had definitely developed some kind of feelings for Ebony, but what were they? The had clashed before, over the wind turbine, over the virus discs, over a hundred other things since then, but they had never been close. Partners in crime once or twice, maybe, but that was all. Maybe that history was just developing into a friendship. The memory of the second kiss resurfaced in Jack's mind, complete with a little voice saying "yeah, right!" in the background.

"Are you just gonna sit there all day?"

Jack jumped, his eyes shooting open. He blinked, surprised at the detail he could see around him, then remembering that his eyes had had time to get used to the low light levels. He looked around for the owner of the voice and made out a crouching shape over at the other side of the cave.

"Do I know you?" Jack asked. The voice had been familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"You certainly used to," the voice, as far as any voice can, grinned. "And you've got the scars to prove it. Well, your shin bone has, anyway!"

Jack stared at the dark shape, then at the wall, then back to the shape again. The voice was deeper and there was a lot more of him than there had been, but time has a tendency to do that to kids.

"KC?" Jack's voice finally raised in query.

"The one and only," grinned the voice. Jack shrugged and pulled a face. Grinning was the only way to describe that voice. The kid had always been a smug little... "Did you think I was dead?" the smug little continued.

"Just a bit!" Jack replied. "I'm guessing you're with Luke and his tribe, then?"

"You could say that," KC said smoothly. "Although they're not exactly his tribe. He's just a part of the group."

"Please don't tell me they put you in charge!"

"Hey, I'm smarter than I look!"

Silence.

"Yeah, okay, so I'm not the leader," KC conceded. "But neither is Luke. You'll meet our leader later. She's on her way with the tribe healer and some supplies."

"How do you know?" Jack asked, raising an unseen eyebrow in the half light of the cave.

"You can see the signal hill from here," KC answered openly. "Luke filled me in on the details when he came up here to signal them. I hung around up here to watch for them approaching. How is Ebony, by the way?"

"Alive," Jack nodded, catching himself as he remembered the sheer agony of dread that had flooded through him when she had first collapsed. "She's awake, but still in bed. At least, that's how I left her."

Jack looked round at a sudden snort of laughter from KC. "You might want to rethink that phrase, mate," chortled the younger man. "Unless of course you want to give the impression you were..."

"I was in her room," Jack cut him off sternly. "I carried her there. I put her into the bed, unconscious, and I was there when she woke up. It was Amber and I who told her what had happened to her. That clear enough for you, KC? No double meanings you'd like me to clarify for you?"

The shadowy form across the cave lifted his hands in surrender.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Jack asked, anxious to change the subject.

"I told you," KC replied with a shrug. "Keeping an eye out for the cavalry."

"Yeah, but why doesn't anyone know you're here? Other than Luke of course."

"Thought we'd keep an eye out from a distance until we knew more about your group," said KC cheerfully. "Can't be too careful these days. After that, we just figured we'd save the surprise for later."

"How much later?" Jack scoffed.

"You'll see."

Jack shook his head. Some things never changed apparently.

"How's Ellie?" KC asked, blunt as a butter knife.

"With Luke," Jack replied with the same unembellished lack of loquacity. "Having his baby."

"You okay about that?" The grinning voice showed only the slightest hint of concern, but it was as much as anyone ever got from KC.

"I'll live."

Silence descended on the cave again. There were dozens of things Jack wanted to ask KC, of course, but none of them seemed particularly timely or important. He hadn't hidden himself away to sit and have a conversation with the shadowy figure of a long lost friend, after all. Jack laughed to himself. Put that way, it sounded almost like he was hallucinating, or dreaming. He had closed his eyes when he had crawled into the cave, and he hadn't slept particularly well the night before, or the night before that, come to think of it. Maybe he was asleep. Maybe he was dreaming.

"The rain's stopped." KC's voice broke the silence. Jack realised he hadn't even noticed the rain start, never mind stop, in his distraction. "I'm gonna go take a look outside."

Jack winced as KC stumbled over his leg on the way out. It was the same one Jack had broken all those years ago when the adolescent, and very drunk, KC had careened into him mid-race at Lex's stag party.

"You trying to make a point?" Jack laughed as KC chuckled his way out of the cave.

KC had been gone at least ten minutes before Jack heard him call back that the reinforcements were on their way. Groaning at his stiff limbs and bruised shin, Jack dragged himself out of the cave to join the younger man. He followed the direction of KC's pointing finger and saw nothing but a rise in the land.

"Keep watching," said KC, grinning broadly.

Jack kept watching. A minute or so later, a shape began to appear over the crest of the hill. The shape resolved itself into a cart being pulled by two horses. Two shapes sat in the cart and another stood at the reins, guiding the horses like an ancient charioteer. As Jack watched, squinting at the rapidly approaching entourage, a shaft of sunlight escaped between the dispersing clouds and landed on the head of the driver, lighting her head with burnished copper fire. Before he knew it, Jack was bent double laughing.

"What?" KC asked, puzzled.

"It's Alice, isn't it!" Jack cried, wiping laughter tears from his eyes. "Your leader is Alice! Lex is gonna love this! Man, she'd give Boadicea a run for her money, turning up like that!"

"Who?" KC was still puzzled.

"Boadi..." Jack looked at the younger man and shook his head. "Never mind. Come on, let's go meet them."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

It took the two men a good half hour's walk to meet the cart and horses racing up the hill towards them. As they drew close, Alice reined in the horses and drew the cart to a standstill. She looked down at them, casting an appraising eye over Jack.

"You made an honest woman of my baby sister yet?" Alice asked, extending a hand to help Jack up onto the driver's seat beside her. After the briefest of greetings, KC had already made his way round the cart and clambered up next to its other passengers.

"She's with Luke again," said Jack simply, avoiding Alice's gaze.

"Already?" Alice snorted. "That little minx doesn't know when she's on to a good thing! I'll be having words with her when I see her!"

"Yeah, and I'm guessing she'll have a few things to tell you too," Jack sighed, gripping the edge of the seat as the cart jolted off up the hill again. "Don't worry about me, Alice. It wasn't like it was that much of a surprise. Let's face it: it was him who walked away from her last time, not the other way round."

"You sure?" Alice frowned, glancing round at him.

"Yes, quite sure," Jack kept his eyes front. "I know you've a lot of catching up to do and all that. And believe me: there's a lot!"

"Just as well we planned on staying a while then," grinned Alice, her natural cheeriness returning. "And from what I know of this area, just as well we brought our own supplies!"

"Just tell me it's not mushrooms!"

Already darkened by cloud, the sky was turning a deep slate grey by the time the small caravan reached the campsite. Even in the rough terrain, surrounded now by trees and shrouded by growing darkness, their approach did not go unnoticed. A sizeable group had assembled to welcome them when they arrived at the gateway to the site, Luke visible by Jay's side. Amber, Ebony, Slade and Lex were not present. Ellie was the first to make a move. Darting out from behind Luke, she reached her sister just as Alice reached solid ground.

Having lifted her younger sister clean off the ground in an enveloping bear hug, Alice suddenly set the smaller woman down with an audible thud, catching her and setting her on her feet as her knees buckled in surprise.

"Alice?" Ellie's voice shook.

"Dammit, Jack! You might have warned me!" Alice yelled, turning round to Jack, who raised his hands in mock defeat.

"Not guilty, your honour," he quipped, maintaining his seat on the cart, nevertheless.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" Alice frowned down at Ellie. "That's some bump you've got there!"

"I'm fine, Alice," said Ellie, casting a wary glance at Jack. "Honest."

"Well, good," said Alice, straightening and resting her hands on her hips. "Because I want a word with you! What do you think you're doing, messing around with Luke when you're carrying another guy's kid?"

Ellie took a breath and shook her head. "It's not Jack's baby Alice," she said, her eyes flicking up to Jack and back repeatedly. "That's what he meant by 'not guilty'."

"Then whose?" Alice's frown deepened from one of concern to something distinctly more suspicious. She scrutinised her sister's face, then looked from Ellie to Luke, standing back with the rest of the group. "You told me you'd seen her in the mines, Luke. You did not tell me that!"

"Alice..." Ellie reached out a hand to her sister, but it was brushed away as the older woman stormed past and picked Luke up by his shirt.

"Care to explain, Luke," said Alice, "why my little sister, whom you last saw a matter of months ago, and whom you said was fine, is now standing here plus one? Seems to me like you missed out a few crucial details when you were telling me all about life with the Technos."

"I didn't know that she was pregnant, Alice," Luke gasped. "I swear!"

"He didn't Alice, honestly," said Ellie catching up with her sister. "He couldn't have known!"

Reluctantly, Alice lowered Luke to the ground. "I guess not," she said. "But if I find out he's not looking after you properly, sis - you and bump there - I swear I will take all that sanctimonious spiritual mumbo jumbo he spouts and shove it right up his..."

"Alice!" Salene cut her off quickly. "There are kids here!"

"Sorry Sal," Alice muttered. "Anyway, how's the patient?"

"Amber's with her," said Salene, glancing over at Trudy, who was staring over at Jack as if she'd seen a ghost. "Trudy was there when she woke up, weren't you Trudy?"

"What?" Trudy looked round, confused. "Oh, yes. I was there. She didn't seem to be running a temperature or anything. Typical Ebony: always lands on her feet."

"She just lost a baby, Trudy," Jack snapped from the cart. "I'd hardly call that landing on her feet!"

"Oh, no, of course, Jack. I didn't mean..."

"Of course you didn't," the disdain in Jack's voice was obvious to all, even if the cause behind it wasn't. Trudy looked away and held Brady closer to her.

"So what's this?" Alice asked turning to Jay, who held baby Bray in his arms. "I recognise you, and your uniform. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put your lights out right now."

"Jay's on our side now, Alice," said Ellie. "He's with Amber."

Hidden by the horses as he climbed down from the cart, nobody saw expressive look that crossed Jack's face, or heard the dry laugh that accompanied it. Nobody except KC and his companions on the cart.

"As am I," said a smooth voice from the back of the group. Alice's eyebrows raised as Ram walked through the crowd towards her.

"Well, look at roller boy here!" Alice chortled. "My, my, how things have changed."

"You remember me then?" Ram's voice showed his approval. "You weren't quite as... er... healthy... the last time we met."

"Beat up and bloodied, more like," spat Alice. "I told you then I'd see you again. I never forget a face. Not one I owe a beating to!"

"Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa," said Ram softly, holding up his hands. "But, like Jay here, I too am a whole new person. A reformed character, if you will."

"I'll believe it when I see it!" Alice snarled, turning her back on him. Nodding to the three people still on the cart, she continued. "Celia! Grab your stuff! Trudy here'll take you to Ebony."

A slim, black haired, pale skinned girl lowered herself into KC's waiting arms and turned to retrieve a bag from the cart. As she did so, Jack saw KC reach over and catch her hand, pressing something small and unidentifiable into her palm. The girl looked back, her face hidden from Jack now, and KC mouthed the word 'later'. With a nod so slight that Jack would have missed it had he not been watching for it, the girl turned back to Alice and the others and walked over to where Trudy was now waiting.

"Celia here's our healer. She knows her way round more plants than I knew existed," said Alice with an expressive raise of her eyebrows. "Look after her: she's the only one we've got!"

"Of course," Trudy smiled nervously, leading the girl away.

Alice turned back to the cart. "KC! Cerrin! Get that stuff down to the gazebo and start unloading!"

"KC?" Salene's voice rose in pitch and she pushed forward in the group and hurried over to the young man. "My word, how you've grown! I didn't even recognise you!"

"You realise I'm still gonna call you squirt though, right?" May chipped in, ever at Sal's side.

"I never doubted it," grinned KC. "It does make me wonder what you're gonna call this guy though!" KC thumped a hand down on Cerrin's shoulder. The boy was skinny, maybe about ten years old. Picking him up and setting him in the driver's seat, KC handed the boy the reins and turned to the waiting crowd. "And if you'll excuse us, we've a few presents to unpack."

May and Salene followed the cart down the hill towards the large, rectangular, wooden-roofed, open, unwalled space Alice had called the gazebo. Beneath the shelter of its roof sat a variety of trestle tables and wooden benches.

"Just a few things we thought you might need," Alice smiled sweetly at the remaining group. "Shall we go see what's for supper? I'm starving!"

As Alice led the way down the hill, Luke busily introducing various new members of the tribe to her, Ellie hung back, waiting on Jack.

"Where were you?" Ellie's voice was quiet, but steady. "I needed..."

"Don't, Ellie!" Jack snapped, his voice matching hers in volume, but harsher in tone. "Don't you dare say you needed me! You don't need me! You don't need to talk to me! You don't need to have anything to do with me!"

"Jack, please!"

"No!" Jack pulled away from the hand that reached out to him. "You are with Luke now! You're having his baby! You love Luke, and if you're honest, you always have loved him! You might have loved me once, but you certainly don't now!" Jack watched Ellie's face fall, her own guilt betraying the truth of his words. He took a deep breath. Everything he had said so far, she had already known, deep down. What he was going to say next was new to her. It was a revelation he had only worked out himself sitting on the cart talking to Alice. "And if I'm honest," he continued, taking her hands and looking her straight in the eyes. "If I'm really honest, Ellie, I don't love you any more either. What we had was amazing and I will never forget one moment of it, but it's gone now and we both need to move on. Let me do that, Ellie. Please."

Ellie dropped Jack's hands and stepped backwards, nodding. In the darkness that had now descended, her expression was unreadable, distorted by the flickering light from the campfire some metres away. Turning, her hand over her mouth, she ran off in the direction of her cabin, leaving Jack alone in the dark.

Sighing, Jack ran a hand over his eyes. It was over, then. One massive, incredibly significant chapter of his life was over. Done and gone. And when one chapter ends, another begins, he thought, looking over towards the large chalet where Ebony remained. He could see the light in the window of Ebony's room, the same one he had looked out of that morning, but curtains obscured his view of what was going on inside. Only one way to find out then, he thought, making his way slowly down the hill towards the nearby building.

"How is she?" Jack whispered in Amber's ear, making the ex-Gaian jump in surprise.

"Where did you appear from?" Amber hissed, swatting at her friend's arm. "You're getting far too good at sneaking around!"

"Maybe you're just losing your touch, Eagle!" Jack grinned. "I just walked straight in the front door and all the way across your living room without you hearing me, after all!"

"You certainly seem chirpier?" Amber frowned. "What's changed?"

Jack looked at his feet and chewed his lip. When he looked up, his brow was wrinkled. "I dumped Ellie," he said, watching Amber's face register all the shock and surprise he had expected. "I told her she didn't love me any more and I didn't love her any more either."

"And do you?" Amber asked. She shook herself and corrected her grammar. "I mean don't you?"

Jack shook his head. "I don't," he said. "I've finally moved on and it feels great! I don't know why I didn't face up to it ages ago!"

"How long has there been something to face up to?" Amber asked, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "Just since you stuck your tongue down Ebony's throat or before that?"

That brought Jack to a sobering halt.

"I didn't mean for that to happen, you know," he said. "Honest: I just needed to distract her! You know what I'm like when I panic."

"Hmm, how is your back?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack glowered, "just tell me how she's doing, will you?"

"Why don't you go see for yourself? You know what room she's in."

Jack paused. "Can't you just tell me? I mean: you've been with her all day haven't you?"

"I have," Amber nodded. "Not that you'd notice after that exit. Not that she'd notice either, as it happens. She won't look at me."

"Wh-what?"

"You hurt her, Jack. She told you she was willing to die for you and you ran away. She's feeling a little low, I'm guessing."

"I-I didn't run away," Jack dragged a hand through his hair. "I just needed time to think, that's all."

"Oh, so you were thinking, were you? Oh, that's all okay then. And what conclusions exactly did you manage to form while you were 'thinking'?"

Jack looked askance at Amber. Maybe it was just the few hours of sleep she'd had. Maybe it was the constant looking after someone. Right now though, she reminded him forcibly of the Amber he had first known, way back when the Mall Rats had first formed. The Amber who made everyone else's business her own. Who drew up cleaning rotas, shouted down Lex and moved heaven and earth to keep them all together and safe. For a moment he felt like that gangly little kid again, with the bright orange hair and the even brighter shirts, trying to get out of window cleaning duty!

"I... um... I don't really know... yet," Jack muttered. "I care about Ebony. A lot more than, a-and very, very differently from how, I used to. I just... I just don't know quite what that is yet."

"So you worked out nothing?"

"I worked out how I feel about Ellie, Amber," Jack turned back to face his leader again. "That's a really big deal for me. Just give me the chance to get used to that idea first, before you ask me to make up my mind on another."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Jack hovered at the doorway of Ebony's room, trying to ignore the daggers Amber was glaring into his back. The delicate looking girl KC had helped down from the cart was fussing over an array of plants laid out on a cloth on the floor. She looked round at the sound of Jack's footsteps, smiled encouragingly and went back to her work. Ebony was lying on her back staring at the ceiling. She made no movement or sound. The last traces of makeup had been removed from her face. It had been sparse enough before, just thin lines of eyeliner and faint eyeshadow, borrowed from Gel, and the slowly fading remnants of the bold red flame design that had identified and characterised her. Now it was all gone. The eyes were unmasked and the flame had finally disappeared entirely. Jack hoped that wasn't an omen of things to come. He had only seen Ebony without the flame once, and that time had been one of turmoil for the tribe.

"Ebony?" Jack's voice, quiet though it was, sounded unnaturally loud in the silent room. He watched as Ebony's eyes closed once, slowly, then reopened.

Jack walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. Ebony turned her face away from him. He reached out for her hand, but before he could take hold of it, she drew that away from him too, turning onto her side so that her back was towards him.

"I'm sorry I left," Jack continued, feeling the pressure of Amber's glare. "I had a few things to sort out." Silence. "Ebony, I... I can't just sit here and spout words that will make you feel better. I know what you want me to say and I can't say it. Not yet. Because, if I did, right now, then it wouldn't mean anything. It wouldn't mean anything because I don't know how I feel. I'd be lying to you. And that is one thing I will never, ever do. I will never lie to you. Not about that."

Jack looked down at the silent form on the bed. She had gone quiet like this before, years ago. Only Tai San had been able to draw her out of herself, eventually. Tai San wasn't here now and Ebony couldn't afford to block out everything and everyone for long. People weren't an issue. They could be ignored. Everyone now knew that Ebony had miscarried, and almost everyone was attributing her current state entirely to that. Only he, Amber, KC and perhaps the new girl knew otherwise. What worried Jack was the fact that Ebony wasn't just refusing to talk to anyone, she was also refusing to eat or drink. She was half starved as it was without refusing food when it was finally available. If she didn't come out of it soon, even just to eat something, she might make herself really ill.

"Ebony, don't shut me out," Jack tried again, this time risking a hand on her shoulder. She pulled away from him. Jack looked over at the girl with the herbs. What had Alice called her? Cecily? Cecelia? No, Celia. That was it. "Celia?" Jack spoke tentatively, just in case he'd got it wrong. The girl looked round and nodded. "C-could you give us a minute?"

Again, Celia nodded, as silent as her patient, but this time she got up and left the room. Jack looked over his shoulder, following her exit with his eyes, and spotted Amber still in the doorway. He glared at her meaningfully and, rolling her eyes, she too left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Jack turned back to Ebony.

"It's just me now," he said. "Just me and I'm not going anywhere. Not unless you turn round and order me out that door!" Jack paused, hoping she would turn round and do just that. "Look, Ebony, I don't blame you for hating me, right now. I-I mean, I would too, if I were you. You opened up to me and I ran away. But I had to. Can't you see that? I couldn't even think about... about dealing with... with how I feel about you... when I hadn't dealt with how I felt about Ellie. I had to sort out my relationship with her first. You see? I had to draw a line under it. I had to do things right. If I didn't, no matter how things turn out with you and me, I'd always regret how things ended with Ellie. Y-you can't start something, something real, if you haven't finished what went before."

Jack sighed and leant back, aware that he was babbling and starting to sound incoherent. He knew what he meant. Whether Ebony did, or whether the information would make any difference whatsoever to her recovery, was another matter.

"I'm gonna let the girls back in now," said Jack wearily, getting to his feet. "I'll be right here though. I'm staying."

"Go."

Jack froze. The word was uttered so quietly that, for a moment, he thought he'd imagined it.

"Wh-what?"

"Go," said Ebony again, her voice thick and muffled. "I need to think."

"About what I said?" Jack's brow wrinkled.

"About a lot of things," was the barely audible reply.

"Ebony..."

Ebony tugged the blanket closer round her and Jack nodded. That was all he would get out of her. It wasn't as much as he had hoped, but it was more than he had expected at least. He put his hand on the door handle and paused, looking back over his shoulder.

"I do care, you know," he said gently. "I just need time, and the chance, to work out how much."

Closing the door behind him, Jack turned to Amber and Celia. The former met his gaze with a stony look and raised eyebrow, the latter with a mild smile.

"I hope for your sake you haven't just made her worse, Jack," Amber growled. "I know Ebony has a softer side, but I have never seen her like this before!"

"I have," Jack tried to sound reassuring, then wondered who he was trying to reassure: Amber or himself. "It was a long time ago, but she pulled through then and she'll pull through now. She's strong."

"Not as strong as she'd like us to think."

"No, I know."

Celia put a dainty hand on Jack's arm and he looked round at her.

"You're a friend of KC's, aren't you?" Celia asked, her voice high in pitch, but low in volume. Jack nodded. "Give this to him for me, please," the girl continued, handing Jack a small parcel. "I'll let you know if there's any change here."

Jack glanced down at the miscellaneous object in his hand. By the time he looked up, Celia had already disappeared back into Ebony's room. Jack stuffed the item into his pocket and looked back to Amber.

"Make sure she eats something," he said. "Last time it took Tai San weeks to get her to eat a square meal, or what counted as one back then."

"Did she speak to you?" Amber asked, her arms folded and her gaze unwavering.

"You weren't listening at the keyhole?" Jack shot back.

"Celia wouldn't let me."

Jack's face showed what he thought of that. "She spoke," he answered. "Just a little. Enough to tell me to go. She said she needed time to think. She's not the only one."

"I know I've never been Ebony's biggest fan, Jack," said Amber, her tone still scolding. "But right now it feels like I'm the closest thing to a friend she's got. She really started to open up to me since we got here. Now she's shutting herself off from everyone again, including me, and..."

"And what?" Jack snapped. "It's my fault? I didn't ask her to risk her life for me, Amber! I didn't ask her to start falling in love with me! What do you want me to do? Go in there and pretend? Pretend to feel something I only might feel? I've been on the receiving end of that one: it doesn't end well!"

"You kissed her Jack!" Amber shot back. "You kissed her, not the other way round! Not the first time, anyway! You made the first move! You started all this!"

"I know! I know, and believe me I'm still trying to work out why I did that. I panicked! I just panicked! And then... Then I don't know. Something happened. Something I wasn't expecting. I never expected to feel that way about anyone except Ellie! You must understand that, Amber, surely! I don't know what it was, but I know I need to work it out before I go making any declarations. Just let me do that, please!"

Amber sighed and looked away. She did know what he was talking about. She could still remember the confusion, the betrayal, the guilt that had filled her the first time she had kissed Jay. Somewhere in the back of her mind there had been, even then, a voice telling her she would never see Bray again and it was time to move on, for her son's sake if not her own, but she had still felt like she was cheating on him. How much worse must it be for Jack, who still had Ellie near at hand, even if she was with Luke now. She hadn't been at the time. At the time, when those two kisses had happened, Jack and Ellie had still been an item. Surely that guilt, if nothing else, was enough to make Jack anxious to be seen to do the 'right' thing.

She nodded, aware that one of her oldest friends was looking to her, quite literally, for understanding. "Fine," she said. "Think it through. Be sure. Just don't mess her about. An angry Ebony I can deal with. A fragile one is a whole new mess of eggshells that I do not want to have to try to walk on!"

Jack nodded and relaxed a little. That was one less battle to fight, anyway. He turned and headed out of the chalet, aiming for the gazebo and the campfire in search of KC. He had a message to deliver and could do with an independent ear to talk to. For the first time in a many months, perhaps years now, he found himself missing Dal.

KC was easily found. He was sitting by the campfire, regaling Lottie, Sammy and the small boy he had lifted down from the cart with tales of strange creatures that lurked in the forests of the island and only came out at night. A few sentences into the tale and Jack had identified the creature as the flightless, nocturnal parrot, the kakapo, but to the younger listeners that bird was still a mythical beast of strange and unknown power. Jack caught KC's eye, but didn't interrupt. A nod from the younger man told him that KC had understood his glance. Jack looked round for Alice and spotted her over in the gazebo, talking Jay and Ram through the supplies she had delivered. As he approached Jack noted, with a wry smile, that those supplies included a large quantity of rope.

"This time next year, you'll be sitting down to a harvest feast and wondering what to do with all the extras," Alice finished, slapping Ram on the back so heartily that he staggered. Apparently the supplies included various farming tools and crops. Off to one side, Jack spotted what looked like a sizeable sack of potatoes.

"I don't know how we can ever thank you, Alice," said Jay, holding a lidded terracotta jar in his hands now, instead of a child. Jack supposed that Brady and baby Bray must be in bed by this time.

"We'll work something out, don't you worry," Alice laughed. "I'm not in the habit of losing track of favours."

Leaving Ram and Jay to the supplies, Alice turned towards the campsite and spotted Jack. She folded her arms and looked him up and down. "Well, for a free agent, you sure don't look like you're full of the joys of spring!"

"You heard, then?" Jack asked, unnecessarily.

"You did the right thing, Jack," Alice unfolded her arms and walked the few steps over to him. "She'll probably sulk for a few days, but in the end she'll realise that she was wrong to expect you to hang around now that she's with Luke. Typical Ellie, really: she wants to have her cake and eat it too, and then probably lick the plate clean!"

"Anyone ever told you what a charming way with words you have, Alice?" Jack grinned.

"Only when they wanted something," Alice grinned back. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to come with you," Jack said bluntly.

"What?" Alice frowned. "What about this place? Don't they need you here?"

"They have Ram," Jack shrugged. "And I get the feeling Luke will be staying around for a while. I know what I said to Ellie, and it was absolutely true in every detail, but that doesn't mean I want to sit here and watch them playing happy families. Besides, there are other reasons."

"Such as?" Alice frowned.

"It's... complicated," Jack shrugged, aware of the cliché and unable to come up with a better word or phrase to take its place. "I need to get away from here. I need to think..."

"You know that Celia will probably want to take Ebony back with us when she thinks she's fit to travel?" Alice's frown deepened. "Does that make a difference?"

Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Makes me more determined to go, if I'm honest," he said.

"Huh," Alice said thoughtfully. Her eyes flicked up at a movement from the campfire and Jack turned to see KC walking over to join them. He was carrying a flaming torch.

"No wind-powered batteries up here, Jack," he said, stopping as he drew close to them. "You wanted to talk to me?"

Alice shifted and looked from one young man to the other. "I'll leave you guys to it," she said. "It's time that kid got some sleep."

"The cabin next to Amber and Jay's is empty and in half decent condition," Jack offered. Alice nodded and stalked off towards the campfire.

"What is it?" KC looked at Jack almost eagerly. "Did Celia send you?"

"Y-yes," Jack stammered, taken aback by the younger man's sudden change in manner. "How'd you know?"

"I'll explain later," KC shrugged. "What did she say? Did she give you anything?"

Wordlessly, and somewhat bemused, Jack pulled the small parcel out of his pocket and handed it to KC. Taking the torch KC handed him, he watched as his friend unwrapped the package and studied its contents. A look of awe and utter euphoria filled KC's face as Jack watched him reverently lift what appeared to be a small stick and grin at it stupidly.

"She said yes!" KC breathed in utter rapture. "She said yes!"

"Huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow at the maddeningly happy young man who was now dancing around in circle, whooping and cheering at the top of his lungs.

"It's a corn straw, Jack," said KC, waving the stick in front of Jack's nose. "It means 'yes'!"

"Yes to what?" Jack asked, still confused.

"Yes, she'll marry me, of course!" KC cried joyfully, and as if the explanation was entirely obvious; which, of course, to him, it was. "What other 'yes' is there?"


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

If Jack had been wanting to sleep that night, he would have been hard pressed to do so. The twin room he shared with KC in cabin 3, next door to where Ebony still lay, watched over by Celia and Amber, was close enough to the double room inhabited by Alice to hear every one of her resounding snores. To make matters worse, KC seemed to have decided that, since sleep was impossible for both of them, he would take the opportunity to recount to Jack every one of his fiancé's perfections.

"She is an angel!" KC exclaimed quietly. "Why she loves me, I have no idea, but she does! I am the luckiest man alive!"

"Yeah," Jack yawned, "you said."

"I've learned so much from her, like you wouldn't believe!" KC continued, oblivious. "I mean, I'm nowhere near as good as her, but I know a bit about healing, I can read the stars, the seasons, the landscape. She even taught me the language of flowers! Me! I can send a message now for the first time in forever, and all because of her!"

"The language of what?" Jack's brow wrinkled. He hadn't planned on sleeping, but he was tired and KC's babbling was starting to make less and less sense.

"The language of flowers," KC answered enthusiastically. "Every flower means something. And not just the flowers, either: different parts of them sometimes, and the way they're given to you, all mean different things. I don't know all of them, heck I barely know half of them, but I know enough to use them to send messages. Especially messages to Celia."

"Let me guess," groaned Jack, "this flower language thing: it was invented as a way to send secret messages to your girlfriend without her parents knowing?"

"Exactly!" KC grinned. "It was invented by the Victorias or something. Whoever they were, their parents must have been really strict if they had to go to that length to get a message from their boyfriends." A frown became apparent in KC's voice. "And they must have had really weird parents to call them the same name..."

"Victorians," Jack sighed wearily.

"What?"

"Victorians, KC, with an N at the end. Not Victori-ahs, Victori-anns. Subjects of Queen Victoria in England. Late nineteenth, early twentieth century. Other side of the world. Some really bizarre ideas and some of the greatest inventors in history!"

KC was silent for a while. Jack preyed he had taken the hint.

"Greatest inventors in history huh?" KC piped up eventually.

"Yes," Jack replied tersely.

"Guess that explains why you've heard of them!"

XXXX

Ebony's mind was a blur. On the one hand she was still hurting. Jack's disappearing act and subsequent return had been like so many knives straight to her heart. On the other hand, she found it was impossible to stay mad at Jack. Not because she loved him, or at least, not just because she loved him, but because he was right. Granted, he could have handled the whole disappearing part a bit better, but everything he'd said to her was true. Ellie had been a huge part of his life. She had been his reason for living at times, and at least the main, if not the only, reason for his fighting so hard to always find his way back to the Mall. He had to draw a line under that before he could move on. Ebony got that. She also understood, and respected, his honesty. No matter how much it hurt to hear right now, it would have hurt her even more, and completely destroyed her trust in him, if he told her what she wanted to hear now, because she was ill, then took it back later.

This way, at least, if he ever did tell her he felt the same way, she would know he meant it.

Ebony pushed herself up into a sitting position. It was almost completely dark in the room, but she could tell by the sound of Celia's even, steady breathing that the healer was asleep. Ebony had been sleeping long enough; she was nowhere near tired now. Sliding her legs round and off the bed, she let her feet fall gently onto the cold wooden floor. The simple shift nightdress she was wearing did little to keep out the night time chill, so she carefully removed a blanket from her bed and wrapped it round her. Following the sliver of starlight sliding across the floor, she crept across to the door and out of the room, trailing her fingertips along the wall of the pitch dark corridor and heading for the faint brightness that signified the central living areas.

After the darkness of the corridor, the open plan living, dining and kitchen area was comparatively bright with it's curtains wide open on either side of the cabin. As she made her way into the kitchen area, she could hear the sounds of night creatures creeping in through an open window: scuffles, scrapes, chitterings and a weird noise like somebody dragging a stick along wooden railings. Ebony poured some water from a bottle to a glass and drank deeply, finishing the glass in one draught and setting it down on the counter. She moved into the living area and curled up on the sofa. There was no way of knowing what time it was: she had no watch and she'd never been good at reading the night sky. No doubt Amber or Trudy could take one look out of the window and tell her not only what the hour was, but the minute too and even how long until sunrise. Ebony shrugged and pulled the blanket closer round her, closing her eyes and listeining to the sounds of her new home.

Just as she was starting to pick out individual sounds among the nocturnal chorus, a closer, more human, sound broke in on her thoughts. Ebony's eyes snapped open, her body returning to a familiar frozen readiness, listening and watching for the slightest sound or movement. The footsteps were from behind her. They were slow and careful, but steady and direct. Not wanting to risk a sudden movement, Ebony held her position and waited. Gradually a tall figure came into view. Jay. Ebony's brow creased as she considered what she knew of the cabin's occupants. Surely everyone was stationed on the other side of the central area except her? Jay and Amber had the double room, with baby Bray in a makeshift bassinet. Trudy and Brady were in the twin room opposite the double. That left the two single rooms on Ebony's side of the cabin: the one she was in and an empty one.

Ebony shook her head, cursing herself for a fool. Of course: the bathroom was on the same side as the single rooms. That would be where Jay was coming from. She had almost made up her mind to turn and head back to her room when a second set of footsteps made her freeze again. This set were lighter and were coming from the same direction as Jay's had. Perhaps Celia had heard Jay pass and had got up to see what the noise was.

Even as Ebony heard the thought run through her head she knew it was wrong. She remained frozen on the sofa, out of the eyeline of anyone coming from that corridor unless they specifically turned to look for her, and waited. Even though she knew, she waited, hoping she was wrong. She wouldn't be though. Celia wouldn't have wakened to the sound of footsteps in the hall, on the other side of a closed door, if Ebony getting out of bed in the same room hadn't woken her. Amber would simply have moved Bray's bassinet into Trudy's room for the night if she wanted to be alone with Jay. That only left one person.

As Trudy's shadowy form passed through the open area, Ebony watched her pause once, as if listening, then move on. Ebony glared daggers at the dark rectangle of the corridor Jay and then Trudy had disappeared into. Was that why Jack had been so keen to keep his hiding place under the bed a secret? And from Trudy especially? Something must have happened in that room before she, Ebony, had woken up. And he, Jack, knew about it! Mr Honesty knew!

Ebony let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and shook her head. He might want space to think, but now there was a totally different conversation she and Jack needed to have!

XXXX

When Celia awoke the next morning, it was to the sound of Amber bringing in a tray with three mugs of steaming nettle tea. She looked over to her charge to find her sleeping soundly, then took a mug from the tray and sat down. Amber placed Ebony's mug by the side of her bed and took her own to a chair by Celia.

"Should she be sleeping this much?" Amber whispered to the young healer.

"She hasn't slept all night," Celia replied quietly. "She was up at least once that I know of. She only woke me when she returned to the room, though, so I have no idea how long she was up for."

"Alice was telling me about the last time she went quiet," Amber wrapped her hands around the sides of the mug to ward off the morning chill. "It was a long time ago, and when I wasn't around. Apparently she just completely retreated from everyone."

"I thought you was one of the first Mall Rats?" Celia frowned. "That's what KC told me."

"Oh, I was," Amber nodded hurriedly, "but I left for a while. It was a very... I mean I was going through..." Amber sighed. "I ran away," she confessed, "because I believed something bad about somebody I cared about, when I really should have known better."

"Ah," Celia breathed. "Eagle Mountain. Of course, I remember now."

Amber frowned and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "KC really has been telling you a lot!"

"We wanted to know everything about one another," the younger woman smiled gently. "Besides, his stories are much more interesting than mine."

Amber regarded her for another long moment, then decided to ask: "You're together?"

Celia nodded. "Engaged, actually, as of yesterday. He left a message for me before he left to shadow Luke, and I sent him a reply message when I got here."

"Message? KC?" Amber's brow rose. "Are we talking about the same guy? The KC I knew couldn't read or write!"

"Not all messages have to be written," Celia smiled. "I found out that KC couldn't read not long after we met. We've been using plants to send messages ever since. It was a way for him to communicate. Teaching him the language brought us together."

"Language?" Amber's tone still rang with disbelief. "I know a lot about plants, but I've never heard of a language of them!"

"It's old. It goes back to the Victorians," Celia smiled again. "My grandmother taught me most of it; the rest I researched and found out for myself. I liked the idea that lovers could send such complicated messages in the form of a simple bouquet. I've added to it too, with native plants. Simple things that might be useful in everyday life, rather than romantically. It helps us send signals around the village without relying on somebody being there who can read. It's almost second nature to the children. For some of them, it's the only form of message they're ever known."

"And KC used it to propose?"

"It's perfect really, when you think of it," said Celia. "It's the reason we had the chance to fall in love, after all."

"True," Amber admitted. "Although where KC would get flowers at this time of year..."

"Ah, now you'd be surprised at what we have growing in the village," Celia grinned. "That's something I cannot share with you now though, not without our leader's permission. It's true that he couldn't find everything, though, so some parts of the bouquet were drawn on scraps of paper."

"How many flowers does it take to say 'marry me'?" Ambers eyebrows rose again.

"Actually, only one, but I've never known KC to keep things simple when it comes to words, so he used seven."

"Seven!"

Celia nodded. "I found them placed, in order, from my bedroom to the kitchen in my home. The first was a peach: that means my charms and qualities are unequalled. Then peach blossom: that means he is my 'captive'. Then cedar leaf: he lives for me. Then a red tulip: he loves me. Then shepherd's purse: I offer you my all. Then a sprig of American linden and a drawing of a four-leaved clover together. The linden means matrimony and the clover, when it's four-leaved anyway, means 'be mine'."

Amber had listened, open mouthed, to Celia's description. It was apparent, from the glow on her face, that she had been aching to tell someone, and the flamboyance of the message, and its delivery, certainly sounded like KC, but to Amber he was still the annoying little boy with no interest whatsoever in girls and romance. The idea that he was now getting married brought home to her just how long it had been since he had disappeared. So much had happened to them all over the years that the time seemed to have flown past.

"I'm boring you," Celia shook her head self-consiously. "You were telling me about Ebony: the last time this happened."

"Not at all!" Amber said quickly. "I just can't believe KC's getting married!"

Turning back round to look at Ebony as she still slept on the bed, Amber took a sip of her tea and continued.

"Like I said: I wasn't around at the time. From what I understand though, there wasn't a miscarriage or anything physical like that. She'd been kidnapped and locked up in a warehouse, in the pitch dark. When she was brought back, she stayed in her room, not eating, not talking to anyone, for ages. When she did eventually surface, there was an anger inside her like nothing they had seen before. Apparently she was pretty much fueled by revenge. It explains a lot of what happened after that, especially between us, but she's dealt with all that now. I'd hate to be the person who makes her angry this time round.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

"Is that everything?" Jack called down from the cart. The contents he and KC had been loading were sparse enough - the purpose of the cart had been to bring resources rather than take them, after all - but now that his departure was in sight, Jack was anxious to be on the road and gone.

"Just Celia's kit and patient," KC called up to him. "They should be ready by now."

"Have you seen them today?" Jack's brow crinkled.

"Yeah, for a bit," the younger man replied. "Just to tell them when we were hoping to leave."

"Uh-huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow and KC grinned back at him.

"Well, maybe not just that," he admitted.

"Jack?" Ebony's voice cut across the campsite. Jack looked up to see her standing, back in her usual clothes, just a few metres away.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked automatically. "Should you be up?"

"We need to talk," Ebony said crisply, ignoring his questions. "Alone. Now."

"I'll just go and help Celia pack," KC said smoothly, backing away from the potential blast zone.

Ebony waited until KC's hurrying footsteps had faded into silence, holding Jack's gaze with steely determination. Jack couldn't help noticing that the clothes weren't the only things to return: a charcoal-black band masked Ebony's eyes and the flame, now also black, had returned to her forehead. He wondered if it was safe to climb down from the cart.

"Wh-what have I done?"

"You mean besides the obvious?" Ebony's voice was back to that cool, sing-song lilt and icy staccato that had terrified Jack at their first meeting all those years ago on the beach. "Get down from there, Jack. I don't want the whole campsite to hear this."

Jack rolled his eyes and climbed down from the cart. "Okay, I'm here," he said. "Now what?"

"You know the worst thing about sleeping during the day?" Ebony began, tipping her head to one side and watching his face intently. "It means you don't sleep well at night. I didn't sleep well last night, Jack. I felt like getting out of my room, so I went for a little walk. I wandered through to the living room and curled up on the couch for a while. It's interesting, sitting still, listening to the night. You hear all sorts of things. Wild animals. Birds. Footsteps. Imagine, Jack. Two sets of footsteps: one a few minutes after the other. Now who could those footsteps have belonged to, Jack? Who else would be walking around in the middle of the night? Not Celia: she was sound asleep when I left the room. Not Amber: she's been up day and night looking after me. So who do you think, Jack? Who else in that house might be up, sneaking around in the middle of the night? Hmm, Jack? Any ideas?"

"Ebony..." Jack's back hit the cart. He hadn't even realised he'd been edging backwards. Now there was nowhere left for him to go and Ebony was right in front of him, looking as threatening as the sky before a storm. "I wasn't anywhere near that cabin last night: how should I know who..." Jack stopped as realisation hit. "Jay and Trudy," he breathed.

The slap resounded across the campsite. Behind her, Ebony heard a door open.

"H-how is this my fault!" Jack protested, one hand rubbing his jaw, the other being waved in the general direction of the cabin.

"Let's think, Jack," said Ebony, her voice dripping acid. "Let's think really hard. Think back. Right back to when you decided the best way to deal with your problems was by hiding under my bed while I was unconscious. Do you remember that, Jack? Do you remember me waking up? And do you remember who was there when I woke up? And what you said to me when she left? 'Trudy cannot know I'm here': those were your exact words, Jack. Why Trudy? I asked you then, but we were interrupted, so now I'm asking you again. Why Trudy, Jack? Why was it so important that Trudy specifically didn't know you had been hiding there? You're the one who's so big on honesty, Jack. Let's hear it? What is your honest answer?"

"Ah..."

"You know, Amber and I haven't always gotten along: you know that better than almost anyone here. And why do you know that? Because you and Amber have always gotten along. You're friends, Jack. Close friends. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that, other than Trudy, and Jay of course, you're probably Amber's best friend. So please explain to me, in your honest and truthful way, Jack, why exactly you wouldn't tell a friend as dear to you as Amber that she is being betrayed?"

"I never told her she wasn't!" Jack tried, lamely.

"Are you trying to make me hit you?" Ebony's eyebrows rose.

"Well, it's not exactly the news you want to give a friend, is it?" Jack pushed himself off the side of the cart and stood his ground. "And it's not like I haven't had other things on my mind! And when exactly would you have had me tell her? When she was dead on her feet after staying awake night after night looking after you? Or maybe when she was busy sorting out all the supplies Alice brought? Or perhaps I you would prefer that I had confronted Jay or Trudy in front of the whole tribe and made them confess? Would that have been open and honest enough for you?"

"This isn't about me!"

"Isn't it?" Jack was starting to gain ground now. "I don't enjoy hurting people Ebony! I know I hurt you, and I hated doing so, but I couldn't risk hurting you more by lying to you. That was something that was clear to me. This isn't. I know this is going to hurt Amber, no matter what I do. I've been there, remember? I know exactly how it feels to find out the person you love is cheating on you. I am hoping that Jay is going to keep his word and come clean now that you're back on your feet, but if he doesn't I have no clue what to do for the best!"

"Is that why you're leaving? Hiding so you don't have to deal, again?"

"No! I'm leaving because I don't want to stay here and watch the woman I thought was the love of my life have a baby with another guy. And because I need some time out of this melting pot to work out how I feel about you! And that's something I can't run away from. No matter where I am!"

"You have to tell her before we leave!"

"What? And leave her on her own to pick up the pieces? No way!"

"She's got Lex and Sal and the others!"

"Lex disappeared with Slade pretty much as soon as he got back and they haven't been seen since, and Salene has her hands full keeping a rein on the kids and looking after Ellie!"

"Then maybe she'd rather come with us!

"And abandon her tribe?"

"She did it before!"

"That was different!"

"No, it wasn't. In fact it was almost exactly the same!"

"What about Bray?"

"She can bring him too!"

"Alice came here to take one extra person back to her village with her, not four!"

"Alice will understand. Heck, she'll pobably beat Jay to a pulp and demand Amber comes with us!"

"And why would I do that?" Alice's voice cut in, ending the building argument.

"Jack?" Ebony folded her arms and tipped her head to the side again.

"Fine," he replied through gritted teeth, "but you're coming too."

"Fine by me," Ebony said sweetly.

"Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" Alice sighed as the pair headed for Amber and Jay's cabin.

XXXX

As bombshells went, it had gone reasonably well, Jack thought. They had managed to catch Amber, KC and Celia in what had been Ebony's room. At a look from Jack, KC had led his fiancé out of the room and left the three of them alone. Jack had said it, plain and simple, then explained how he knew. Ebony had backed him up them by adding her story. First there had been confusion, as if Amber thought they were playing some sick joke on her. Then there was denial: the idea that they must be mistaken somehow. Then there was silence as the pieces started falling into place.

That was the moment Trudy had decided to come in and find out what was going on. Amber had asked her if it was true. In a way, Jack was glad it was Trudy who walked in and not Jay. Trudy's guilt was written all over her face and she couldn't even try to deny the affair. Jay might have had less of a conscience. As it turned out, Amber never even gave him the chance to deny or explain anything: she just packed up her things, picked up her son and walked out, heading straight for the cart. She hadn't asked Alice if she could leave with them, she had told her.

When Jay finally showed up, they were all on the cart and ready to leave. He had demanded explanations, begged Amber to come down, told her it was all a mistake, that he was sorry. He even went as far as to tell her that she was being irrational. Amber ignored it all, simply telling Alice to drive on.

They had remained in silence for most of the journey, the general mood dampened by the events of the morning. KC had tried to start up conversations a few times, usually on subjects as random as the local wildlife, the inventions Jack might be able to come up with, the problems with the irrigation system for the fields that he might be able to fix and even the weather. Every thread died away quickly and silence returned.

The delay in leaving meant that darkness had fully fallen by the time they arrived at the village gates. A tall, wooden wall shrouded the village from their view as Alice stopped the cart and called for the gates to be opened. Even on the other side, what the walls revealed the darkness hid. The cloud filled sky meant that no starlight or moonlight relieved the black night around them. Jack had a vague idea that they had passed buildings, but no idea what those buildings looked like.

Eventually, the horses stopped and Alice called for light. A door nearby opened and yellow firelight stung their eyes. Soon, unknown hands were helping them down from the cart and into the bright warmth of the building.

It took Jack a minute to focus on his new surroundings, but when he did he saw a well appointed room, complete with fireplace and stove, simple but comfortable furniture and an unused electric light in the centre. There was a corridor leading off to the right. Seating was gathered around the fireplace, which was built into the centre of the room with a wide, suspended flue leading up through the roof. The door by which Jack had entered was in the right hand corner, from where he was standing, and the wall right next to him was lined with low cupboards and high shelves. Opposite him he could see an open kitchen area, with a central workspace including a cupboard and wine rack, and the rest of the kitchen units around the two walls of the corner. In the corner diagonally opposite him Jack could make out the form of a table and, as he made his way further into the room, he could see that the last corner was inhabited by some sort of work desk, with a well stocked bookcase on the wall between the door and the desk. All in all, it seemed around the same size as the larger cabins at the campsite, but this building was made of stronger stuff than log walls and plank roofing.

"Another campsite?" Jack asked as Alice bid KC, Celia and the rest of her people goodnight and shut the door behind them.

"In a manner of speaking," Alice admitted. The way she said it made Jack look at her with a questioning frown.

"It's a long story," Alice shrugged wearily, "and one best told in daylight when I can show you round properly. Let's just say these houses are built for longer stays than your cabins were. You're in the twin room with Cerrin," Alice indicated the corridor, "first door on your left. He's gone to clear the bottom bunk for you now. Amber and baby Bray can take the double room next door to yours, and Ebony can have the single opposite you and Cerrin. Bathroom is the second door on the right. I'll be in the double room at the bottom of the corridor. Try to get some sleep. Tomorrow we can find you all some place of your own.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Jack hadn't meant to fall asleep. In fact, he had intended to spend the long night hours working through all the various issues now clamouring for his attention: his feelings for Ebony; Amber's state of mind following her split from Jay and, for that matter, from Trudy; Ebony's state of mind now that she had left her room, albeit to tear a chunk out of him then escape to Alice's village with him and Amber. A new question had butted its way into his mind too: where were they? The house they were in was obviously not a holiday home. It was too sturdy, too well built. It wasn't exactly your average residential house either, though. Jack couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was definitely something odd about the building. He closed his eyes and pictured the single, large, reception room.

When he opened his eyes again, it was morning.

In the bright light of a new day, Jack looked about the room he had spent the night in. It was plainly furnished: a chair, a table, a built in wardrobe and the bunk beds were the only items he could see from where he lay. There was a small pile of toys in the corner. Most looked as though they had been hand made, but a few looked like they might be pre-virus.

Swinging his long legs off the bed, and reaching a hand up to avoid hitting his head as he stood, Jack got up and checked the top bunk. It was empty. The boy Cerrin had already woken and left. Jack ran a hand over his face and through his hair, and wondered what they did for running water here. He sighed and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he was confronted by two doors opposite his own, side by side. One was Ebony's, the other led to the bathroom. Jack's brow wrinkled as he rubbed his eyes and tried to remember the layout that had been described to them last night. He was about to put his hand on the handle of the left door when it opened away from him and Ebony stepped out, wearing a bath towel. There was a mutual pause and catch of breath before Jack remembered where he was heading.

"Ummm... B-bathroom?" Jack stammered, pointing.

"Yes," Ebony replied quietly, stepping sideways and disappearing through her own door.

XXXX

"I still don't get why we can't just show them everything!" KC hissed from his seat at Alice's breakfast table. "It's Jack and Amber!"

"And Ebony!" Alice reminded him.

"If Jack and Amber trust her..." KC held out his hands.

"And they do trust her," Celia cut in gently. "They care for her. Both of them."

"Ebony is Ebony," said Alice. "We all care about her, to some degree. I was there the first time she went quiet on us, though. There's no way anyone can know what's going on in her head!"

"All the same: who's she going to tell?" KC shrugged. "The Technos are gone, the Chosen are gone..."

"And somehow both their leaders and those leaders' right hand men have ended up on this island."

"You met Ram and Jay: they're not going to start anything. Besides, they're a full day's journey away, more on foot!"

"And Luke will be staying up there with Ellie now, most likely," added Celia.

"All the same..."

"Let me at least show them the garden," said Celia. "This is as much a scientific outpost as anything else. The garden is part of that side of the village. I'm sure Jack would appreciate it, for it's scientific value if nothing else."

"And you know Jack, Alice," warned KC. "He'll spot that this isn't your average island village as soon as he walks out that door, if he hasn't already. Amber and Ebony are no fools either: they'll need some form of explanation or they're only going to start asking questions. Difficult questions."

"Fine," Alice sighed. "Show them the garden, the hospital and the botanics base. They're the ones we use most anyway."

"And if they ask to see in any of the other bases, or the centre?"

"Tell them we don't use them, so there's nothing in them to see. Other than that, I'm sure you'll manage to come up with something KC."

The sound of the door at the far end of the room opening prevented KC from asking any more difficult questions of his own. The small group around the table looked up to see Ebony heading towards them. The charcoal eye band was back, along with the black flame.

"We were just talking about you," called Alice, rising to her feet. "Come and have some breakfast. KC and Celia will show you round the village when you're all ready, then maybe we can find you a house of your own."

"Eager to have me gone, Alice?" Ebony asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Respectful of your privacy, Ebony," Alice replied calmly. "Help yourself to bread and milk. There is porridge in the pot on the stove. Would you like some?"

Ebony paused, eyeing Alice askance, then nodded and seated herself at the table.

As Alice made her way to the kitchen end of the room, Jack appeared, bleary eyed.

"Porridge?" Alice asked. It's not much, but I'm guessing it beats what you've been having recently.

"Definitely!" Jack replied with a yawn.

"Go take a seat, I'll bring it over."

Jack nodded and headed for the table. He had never been much of a fan of porridge before the virus. Then, when it was all they had to eat in the mall, either thanks to the efforts of the Locos, Tribe Circus, The Chosen or the Technos, or simply their lack of foraging and trading, that was when he had really begun to loathe it. Now, however, with the smell of the oats filling the room and the memory of nothing but fish, shellfish, mushrooms and, most recently, nettle tea, a bowl of porridge sounded like a luxury beyond his wildest dreams!

He chose the seat diagonally opposite Ebony, next to KC, and helped himself to bread and butter. Real bread, still warm, and real butter!

"This is fantastic!" Jack exclaimed, mouth still partly full, as Alice placed the bowls of porridge on the table before Jack and Ebony. "Where do you get the flour!"

"We have some stores that were here before," KC answered, "and we have crops that we've grown and harvested ourselves."

"We have fully operational farms surrounding two sides of the village," Alice explained. "The Technos had us working them before, as prisoners. Now, with Alice's expertise and guidance, we work them for our own benefit. We have fields for wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, leeks, carrots and onions, a fallow field, two large pastures, plus two small ones near the farmstead for the mothers in spring time. We keep horses, goats, sheep, cows, chickens and pigs. We have a large orchard with fruit trees and a managed woodland with some timber trees. Then there are the two walled gardens: one for more delicate vegetables and one for herbs and flowers."

"You waste space growing pretty flowers?" Ebony sneered. "What use are they?"

"Everything has a use, Ebony," said Celia, gently. "Some flowers have medicinal uses. Some can be used to make perfumes, dyes or fabrics. Others are even edible!"

"I'd love to see the garden, and the farm," cut in Jack. "Would you take me round there after breakfast?"

"It's quite a walk, but we'd be happy to," said Celia. "The gardens were one of the parts of the village we were hoping to show you today anyway."

"Should we wait on Amber?" KC asked, looking from Jack to Ebony and back. "It's not like her to be the last one up."

"I think Amber's got a bit more on her mind than tours and gardens," snapped Ebony. "She probably just wants to be left alone with her son."

"Ebony's right," Alice sighed. "You go on. I'll be staying here to sort out a few things anyway. I'll be here when she feels like talking."

XXXX

The village in daylight was hardly much easier to navigate than the village at night, Jack found as he hurried to keep up with KC and Celia, and take note of his surroundings and the paths they took. It was no use: after less than half an hour of walking Jack was at least ninety percent sure he would never find his way back to Alice's on his own. Eventually, the small group arrived at a large wooden door in a tall, ivy covered, brick wall. Celia opened a smaller door within the great one and led them through.

The garden she had chosen to show them first was the herb and flower garden. Jack was sure he heard even Ebony break out of her black mood long enough to gasp at the sight before them. The garden was set out in neat areas. Many of the plants were well past flowering, but here and there there were bright dashes of colour. In the centres of some beds, willow trees and maples spread their branches and remaining leaves outward, providing what would be shade in the summer time. At the heart of the garden, a pond sported a variety of water plants and numerous fish. At the far end of the garden, however, was Celia's pride and joy: a huge glasshouse stretching from one side of the garden to the other.

Celia led them in, taking care to close the door behind them. The central chamber of the glasshouse was walled on either side by more panes of glass, and by a brick wall with a door in it at the opposite end. Celia turned to face them.

"The glasshouse has four chambers in addition to this one, two on each side," she said, raising a hand to indicate each chamber as she described it. "Starting from your left, each chamber gets gradually more humid. The furthest chamber on the left is the desert plants, then the more temperate plants: vines, citrus fruits and so on. On your right we have another, slightly more humid temparate chamber, then at the far right we have one that feels like being in a rainforest. It's where we grow the orchids and other tropical plants."

"Okay, I get growing oranges and lemons and so on," Ebony spoke up. "I even get growing desert stuff - I mean, that's stuff like aloes, and so on, right? But orchids? Seriously: other than pretty flowers, what possible use could you have for orchids?"

"Oh, I don't know, Ebony," KC grinned. "Ever heard of vanilla ice cream?"


End file.
